"No Carbs Before Marbs" Fab or Fad?

We are constantly bombarded with the latest quick fix weight loss tricks or tips, especially in the lead up to summer this tends to happen. Now if you are like me and had your way with three too many easter eggs in the last while you will be in a mad panic to drop the bloat and look super toned for the upcoming holidays and the big 'reveal', aka stripping down to your bra and undies (bikini) on a beach for a week, ten days or a fortnight.

 

 

No SUGAR – that means no cakes, muffins, chocolate, and the list continues, they are no longer your friends!!!

No WHEAT – this includes, bread and pasta, so bring on the salads!!

No DAIRY – milk & cheese….need we say more.

No PROCESSED FOODS – this is anything that contains e-factors or foods that are packaged, boxed or can be microwaved.

No CAFFEINE - yes this includes both Tea AND Coffee. Be positive, just think though of all that money you will be saving!

and finally, the pièce de résistance, No ALCOHOL - NONE, NADA, ZIP….no one said this was going to be easy.

 

 

I'm going to Portugal in about seven weeks, and I have a wedding to attend in eight weeks. Both big events that I want to look well for. I just have one problem...I have zero willpower. Like seriously. I haven't always been this way but I think I have fallen way, way down deep into that relationship rut where you just don't give a shit anymore...Haha I know this sounds terrible but we are talking hairy legs zone. So! I have decided I need to dún do bhéile and stop chewing. I work on my feet as I am in hospitality so I honestly don't know if I can hack walks/runs after work but I am planning to try incorporate some weight training into this plan.

 

No wheat/ no dairy is the latest thing to be marketed to us as a weigh (excuse the pun) to lose weight. I think this is definitely a fad but with some truth to it. An awful lot of people have an intolerance to wheat and dairy. Some people are lactose intolerant which causes them to bloat. I honestly notice if I consume a lot of dairy mainly milk I get stomach pains, and wheat makes me bloat an awful lot. So I am thinking of switching to soya or almond milk, cutting out cheese, and doing my best to cut out wheat. Cutting out wheat will mean you also cut out a lot of carbs so I see why it can help you lose weight. Veg, sweet potato and I'm pretty sure bananas are considered carbs though so you won't be going hungry or feeling a lack of energy.

No alcohol- well I don't really drink, I mean when I get the chance it is like wine o'clock a go go, I wouldn't turn down cocktails or a rum and coke but I am working a lot these days and so I don't feel like doing a shift hungover so this one shouldn't be too bad. It takes your body three days to get alcohol out of the system and get the metabolism back to normal so you can see why it is bad for you!

 

Sugar: I can see myself seriously struggling with this one. I honestly think I have an addiction to chocolate. I am no even joking, I get so cranky when there is none in the house and I usually need to have some everyday. I don't take sugar in tea or on cereals though so that isn't the problem its basically just chocolate itself. I'll have to monitor this one and really try!

 

No caffeine...ah I am partial to a good cup of tea but lately I have been drinking green tea or a Pukka detox tea so I shall try stick to that. Lemon in hot water is also fab for eh 'cleansing the bowel' if you get my drift...

 

Sample daily menu plan:

 

Breakfast: Porridge with water or almond milk & fruit eg berries/banan/stewed apple & mixed seeds

 

or

Two egg omelette or three egg scramble include mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers basically ALL THE VEG

 

plus Green tea/ Hot water and lemon to detox

 

Snack: Fruit & 2 litres of water

 

Lunch: Chicken/ Tuna salad made of mixed leaves, kidney beans, peppers, boiled egg

Homemade veg soup no cream or butter

 

Snack: dried fruit, apricots are ok, normal fruit, mixed seeds, walnuts are alright, and even granola bars for a snack.

 

Dinner: Stirfry with salmon, Steak with sweet potato and veg

 

My motivation is Vicky Pattison from Geordie shore, she looks fab now!

 

A ton of exercise obviously went into this transformation but if you follow her Instagram she also posts up healthy pics of what she eats. She snacks on sugar snap peas, and eats porridge and fruit for breakfast ever day. Food is fuel.

 

Best of luck if you are trying to lose weight or have lost weight (shout out to Laura Cullen)

 

Hope you enjoyed this post & can take away some tips! I am trying to motivate myself but if that doesn't work hopefully I've motivated you guys! :-)

 

xoxo

 

 

A Day in the Life

It's 4 minutes to 8pm and I'm writing the #LetsTalkBlogChallenge proposed by Sarah Hamersly of www.atthebeautydesk.blogspot.ie I think the fact I left it so late sums up my life! I am a very disorganized scatterbrain, delighted to take part in this challenge so I can learn more about my fellow lady bloggers.

So lets get to it! I am an ITEC qualified makeup artist, I study journalism in college and I am now working full time in the hospitality industry. So I'm a busy gal as I'm sure you can tell.

 

I recently adopted a dog named Flash, we changed his name to Buddy. He was going to be put down by the pound this day last week if no one took him and so we rescued him! He is gorgeous, with such a soft, sleek coat. I am very passionate about supporting animal rights and rehoming animals and I'm doing the women's mini marathon for the DSPCA.

 

 

That's all for now, follow us every week on #LetsTalkBlogChallenge

 

xoxo

 

Top 5 Fab Beauty Products

So sorry that I have been MIA on the blog for the last while, I have just been so busy. I am after starting a new full time job and I am just finishing up with college work so it's all been pretty hectic to say the least! But luckily along with this new job comes with more moola so I've been able to buy a lot of new beauty and makeup products so expect lots of reviews to come! :)

I'm going to start off with the products that I am loving at the mo!

1.

 
SPARITUAL Open Minded Organic Sugar Scrub
 
It's 70% organic featuring lavender essential oil. It is also vegan, and paraben free for those of you who are into that kind of thing! Basically it is an ethically beauty product with no nasty chemicals!
 
It is fantastic for detoxifying and sloughing off the dead skin before having to bare the pins for summer! It smells gorgeous and has a lovely grainy texture perfect for use on the body. It leaves your skin silky soft and smooth.
 
2.

Hemp hand protector

 

Since I started this new job my hands have been getting awfully chapped and my nails are in bits so I felt they were in need of some TLC. This hemp hand protector is currently reduced in The Body Shop, all natural products as usual for very dry skin and it makes your dry hands so, so smooth. It is fantastic, better than my L'occitane shea butter hand cream, and more purse friendly!

 

3.

 

 

Cicaplast Baume B5

 

Cicaplast Baume B5 is like a drink for your skin. It completely moisturises lips left dry and in need of moisture from air conditioning. It is a La Roche Posay Holy Grail product and I got a huge tube like this that will last me ages. You can also use this on sensitized skin, it is a 'soothing repairing balm' so it isn't just for the lips!

 

4.

 

 

 

Rimmel Match Perfection

 

Rimmel Match Perfection in shade 103 True Ivory is my new favourite foundation! I had been using MAC for ages and I was really unhappy with the poor colour match and the coverage and I had heard so much about this foundation from Rimmel off sosueme.ie and so I decided it would be a much more purse friendly option at €9.99 and so it was worth a go. It leaves me with a lovely luminous glow and it has medium coverage that is very buildable with my Sigma f80 brush. I can definitely give this foundation a thumbs up and it is a perfect colour match for my skin :) It also has an spf of 18 which is fantastic as once you hit your 20s you should start looking after your skin.

 

 

Sigma f80

 

5. I have already done a review on the Sigma f80 buffing brush above but it is the only brush I use now to apply my foundation. It is fantastic for stippling foundation into the skin and giving great long lasting coverage with no streaks. I bought this on cloud10beauty.com look out for the sales! :-)

 

So that wraps it up girls, my top 5 products that I am loving lately! Have you tried any of these? What are you loving and leaving? To the comments!

 

xoxo

 

Blogging it Beautiful

Update: Drop a Dress Size Challenge

Yikes! I should have realised it would be a bad week to start my challenge with a hen weekend planned, and my boyfriend's night away...I kind of let myself run away with ALL of the chocolate, fry ups and cocktails!

 I haven't weighed in yet, but I will on our weigh in day Thursday and let you all know. I will I SWEAR be committing myself to the programme with renewed gusto from tonight/tomorrow. :) 9 weeks to drop a dress size! Let's do this!

I've already had fab feedback from Laura Cullen, one of the Facebook followers go like Blogging it Beautiful for more motivation. She has dropped a jeans size! Claps for Laura! Has anyone else done well this week?

 

Stay fabulous x

Drop a Dress Size Challenge

Hi all! I just want to give a short intro to this blog post, even though the title is quite self explanatory. I am going on holiday in 10 short weeks and I would love to have dropped a dress size by the time I have to fit into a bikini. I've been told it takes losing ten pounds to drop a dress size so my goal will be just that.

I plan on posting every week, on a Thursday with my weight loss results hopefully, what worked for me that week, what didn't, exercise and meal plans. I am hoping this will catch on and inspire other ladies to post about their weight loss and motivate them to achieve their weight loss goals for the summer.



My three main goals for this week are as follows:

1. Drink more H20. Water that is. It is so important to drink at least 2 litres everyday. Add some lemon, cucumber and mint and you have the perfect detox drink.

Have a hot cup of water and lemon to cleanse your digestive system and sip on some water throughout the day. There are so many skin, health and weight loss benefits to drinking water and it is so simple. So I plan on upping my intake to 16 glasses a day if I can manage it! There is an app on my phone called Quench, I'm sure there are others. It helps you work out how much water you should be drinking everyday and also reminds you to drink a glass every so often. No excuses!

2. Eat more fruit.

Fruit is actually delicious, naturally sweet, low in calories and can help curb cravings. It is also packed full of nutrients, vitamins and minerals which will make you glow from within. I don't know why I don't eat more of it to be honest, I love blueberries on my porridge, strawberries, bananas, oranges and pineapple, and grapes. Make a big fruit salad or else display it like this to get you into your summer frame of mind:

 

 

3. Eat less bread.

 

I am an absolute divil for my Mam's homemade brown. It is healthy obviously in comparison to white bread but it is carbs and carbs do tend to bloat. I also work in the hospitality industry and the quickest thing to hand is usually delicious fresh baked bread so that is what I tend to snack on without realizing.



So they are three simple goals for the week, so hopefully by following them and increasing my exercise I should have one pound off easily for next week!

 

My exercise plan will be to run three times a week. I love going to the gym but between work and college I really don't have time so I just plan on doing thirty minutes three times a week. A five minute warm up, run/walk for a minute at a time for twenty minutes, and a five minute cool down and stretch should get me started nicely!

Good luck ladies and let me know if you want to participate by posting in the comments! We will be strutting our stuff in that bikini in no time! :)

INGLOT New Spring/Summer Makeup Range

Inglot have announced a fab new range of matte lipsticks in vibrant colours for Spring/Summer. The shades are numbered from 422-426 and range from a vibrant purple, pink and orange to a creamy maroon. Looks like it is one extreme or the other this summer, from must have nudes and neutrals to bright pops of colour on the lips and cheeks.
The lipsticks are priced at €13 each. Why not take some inspiration from below?

 

Some swatches of the lippies below

 

 

Inglot have also added to their range a Pro Blending sponge. It has a precision tip for smaller areas of the face, around the nose and under the eyes. The larger part can be used for stippling the foundation into the skin.

 

Inglot's best selling Milk and Tonic wipes are now available in travel size perfect to pop in your handbag for your holidays! They retail at €3.

 

 

 

First Impressions: Sigma f80 foundation brush

This was my first order from Cloud10beauty.com and while It certainly won't be my last I was left disappointed by the lack of promised free samples with my order.

 

I ordered the Sigma f80 flat head kabuki brush Sunday night and it came today, on Wednesday 2-3 working days as promised. I love the quality of this brush, its bristles feel so velvety soft and while the handle is chunky its easy to use.

 

As you can see above I already took my girl out for a spin, and test drove it on my date night foundation face. It really buffs the foundation into the skin and gives a flawless non streaky finish. I was expecting more coverage though.

 

However once I try it with a few different foundations, liquids, creams and mousses I will be able to tell you the true coverage it can provide.

 

Delighted I purchased this brush, it normally retails at €19.95 but Cloud10beauty were running a 15% discount in honour of Mother's day with the code : mumrules So I decided it was just about the time for me to snap this baby up!

 

Have you tried the Sigma f80? Let me know your thoughts below in the comments, I love it!

 

Find me on Facebook for more beauty banter at Blogging it Beautiful

 

 

 

xoxo

Cheap Tuesday: Penney's Beauty Bargains

Well if you read my blog regularly you will note that I recently did a blog post on what I bought in Penneys and these two little beauties were part of that haul.

I bought the Perfect Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner, for the two it was €3. I was cynical as to would these actually be good for my hair, but after two uses I can safely say I love them!

On first use they left my hair with a rough texture before it was dried out, but once I dried it, my hair looked significantly blonder and shinier. On the second use, it didn't leave my hair feeling rough at all, just blonder and shinier!
It can't be beat for performance, and price.

Verdict: 5/5

PS Beauty Range nail varnish Mint

I adore the colour of this polish and it was €1.50 which won't break the bank but it chipped soooo easily so I am not very happy with it. The bottle also has a boxy lid which I found difficult to take off and was thinking how the hell am I going to paint my nails with this lump of plastic? Once I figured out to take the lid off it was a small lidded brush underneath so luckily it was easy to apply. It took two coats to get this coverage. I do like the price and the colour. I would definitely use a top coat in future though!

Verdict: 3/5

Have you bought any beauty bargains or better yet tried out these? What's your verdict?

To the comments!!

 

xoxo