What I Ate Today

Since February, I've been on sort of a health kick (i.e. not eating lots of junk food like biscuits, chocolate and Taytos) because it turns out that I accidentally put on 2 stone in the six months leading up to Christmas. I don't know how it happened... actually, I do. It was probably down to all the full packets of biscuits, giant bags of Doritos and mountains of chocolate I was eating every week. So for the past two months, I've been watching what I'm eating in order to lose the excess weight and now I'm down half a stone. I could be eating a lot less and restricting my diet a lot more in order to lose the weight faster, but I want this to be a more gradual thing not just crash dieting until I lose the weight and then going back to eating loads of crap food.

So I got this amazing app called Nutracheck which helps you track all the calories you eating and burning. I'll tell you more about this app in the future because I'm planning to write an entire review about it. When I first signed up for it, I was asked what my current weight was and what my goal weight was and then it calculated for me that I should try to only eat 1400 calories a day in order to get to my goal weight, so that's what I've been trying to do. Also, since I've been watching my weight and trying to get healthier, I've been obsessed with blog posts and videos about healthier snacks and what people generally eat in a day so I thought that I might try it out and see how I get on. It will be a good way to watch what I'm eating and hopefully, you might find it interesting too.

10:30am - Breakfast

Yesterday, I woke up late. I've been trying to wake earlier every day at about 7am because it makes me feel so much more productive, but I gave in to the snooze button and slept until 10. For breakfast, I had some Ready brek made with skimmed milk and some sultanas sprinkled on top. It was actually my first time adding sultanas to Ready brek and I really liked it (I'm already craving more as I'm writing this).

12:00pm - Snack

I had to go to work at 1pm so I just ate a light snack of some Aldi Savour Bakes Thins (cheddar and cracked black pepper) and a tall glass of water. These have a fairly strong flavour so I like to eat them plain without any spread on top. I had really only just had breakfast and I wasn't that hungry so I went for a quick snack in case I would get hungry in work. 

7:00pm -Dinner

When I came home from work at around quarter to six, I was so tired that it took me ages to actually get up off the couch and make dinner. I had a stir-fry with chicken, half a courgette, fine thread noodles, thyme, a spoon of curry powder and a dash of soy sauce. This is one of my favourite dinners because it's really tasty and pretty low in calories. 

7:30pm - Dessert

I know I said at the beginning of this post that I was cutting out chocolate but I do allow myself a small treat twice a week. So because I still had nearly 600 calories left for the day, I had one of my favourites, a Dairy Milk Oreo bar with a pint of water. I am literally in love with these bars. If I could eat them all day, I probably would. 

8:30pm - Hot Chocolate

One of the best ways to suppress my hunger in the evenings is to drink a hot drink. On a good day, it's a cup of green tea, whenever else, it is a cup of hot chocolate made with skimmed milk. It really helps with the chocolate cravings, although I had just eaten a chocolate bar so I wasn't really having chocolate cravings. I added a marshmallow to make it a bit more fun and that I was all I had for the rest of the evening. 

I hope you enjoyed this different sort of post. I'm thinking about doing it as a sort of series that I post once a week or once every two weeks. Let me know if it is something you would be interested in or if you find this kind of thing really boring. If you like it, please make sure to save it on Bloglovin or give it a +1 on Google Plus. I'll talk to you guys soon.

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24K Gold Collagen Mask Review

When I went to the Professional Beauty Ireland event back in October, I got a goody bag from Tan Organic and Skin Logic that had a couple of cool freebies in it. One of those was a 24k Gold Under Eye Collagen Mask. I was definitely intrigued when I saw this product. I've never really used face masks before but this one sounded amazing.

 The mask contains gold minerals which are supposed to tighten the skin and facilitate the removal of toxins. It also contains plant collagen which combined with active gold is supposed to combat dryness, and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The mask is also supposed to stimulate collagen production and therefore, give you younger looking skin.

It's obviously difficult to determine if I have gotten younger looking skin after just a few uses but I do really like this under-eye mask. It is so cooling and relaxing. I love to use it first thing in the morning to help wake me up and get ready for the day. You are supposed to leave it on for at least thirty minutes so I usually wear it while eating breakfast, writing blog posts or editing videos early in the morning. Once you apply it, it stays on your face so you don't have to worry about it sliding off as you walk around or do other things while you are waiting. It's not one of those masks where you have to lie down and keep still to use, which I love. There also is no clean up afterwards unlike other face masks which can be quite messy. 

I'm not sure if it meant to be reusable but I have been using it each day for a few days now. The youthful benefits of this mask may not be as beneficial after the first use, I'm not really sure how it works but it is still very cooling and relaxing to use on the second, third or fourth time. There is also a tip that was written on the packet that says once you are done using it, you can melt the remainder of the mask in your bath to give you softer, smoother skin.  

My skin isn't very aged looking anyway but after using the mask, my under-eye area feels very soft and smooth so I really like this mask. The great thing about it is that it is really affordable, and retails at only €3.49. You can buy it here on the Skin Logic website if you are interested. You can also get a full face mask version of it for €12, and there are also neck and lip masks. I think this is the start of a beautiful obsession with face masks for me.

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you did then please make sure to save it on Bloglovin or give it a +1 on Google Plus. Have you ever tried a Collegen face mask before? What did you think? If you haven't then make sure to let me know what your favourite face mask is in the comments below. Talk to you soon.

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Makeup Revolution Cover & Conceal Palette Review

I recently got the Makeup Revolution London Ultra Cover and Conceal palette at Superdrug for only €7.75. This is the first product I ever got from Makeup Revolution but I thought I'd try it since it was so inexpensive. In the palette, you get 8 different shades of concealer with quite a nice sized mirror. There were three different shades of this palette available to buy; light, light-medium or medium-dark. I went for the light palette because I have pretty pale skin. 

My original idea for getting this palette was to use it to contour with but I think that the light-medium or medium-dark palette might have been better for contouring. None of the shades in this palette are dark enough. Highlighting, on the other hand, is a different story. At least half of the colours in this palette are light enough for me to highlight with. 

These concealers are very soft and creamy so they are quite easy to blend out. They don't dry in as quickly as some other concealers do so they're easier to work with. The downside of that is that they are fairly light and don't have as much coverage as other concealers. They also are quite an oily consistency and are hard to set with powder. I do like this palette and being able to have all the different shades to play around with when concealing my face but as for the quality of the concealers, I feel like they are fairly average.

I am still pretty happy with this palette though because as I've already said, I got it for only €7.75, so I wasn't expecting MAC quality full coverage concealers. For the price, I think they are good quality and you could get a lot worse concealers for €7.75. I wish there would be a tiny more variation in the colours so they could be used better for contouring but I think that was my own fault in choosing the light palette. 

Overall, I like this palette. For the price, you can't go wrong, and you not only get 8 different shades of concealer but a pretty sizable compact mirror too. I definitely want to try out some more Makeup Revolution products after these, especially because they are so inexpensive. Have you ever tried any Makeup Revolution products before? Let me know if you did and what you thought of them in the comments section below. I hope you enjoyed this post! If you did, then make sure to save it on Bloglovin or give it a +1 on Google Plus. Talk to you all soon. 

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5 Simple Ways to Be Happier

Something I am always trying to do is be more positive and happier in my life. Some people appear to be naturally positive people whereas others have to work on in each day. So if you are like me and are prone to negative thinking, here are some of my simple ways or things you can do to feel happier each day.

1.Be Grateful
By trying to come up with a list of all the things you are grateful for each day it can really help to improve your overall mood. Starting the day in such a positive way helps to get you off to a great start so try to come up with a short list of  the things you are grateful for at the beginning of each day. 

2. Get Moving
It is proven that exercise improves our mood because it helps your body produce endorphins which interact with the opiate receptors in the brain to reduce our perception of pain and improve your mood. Even doing some small exercise each day, like walking your dog or jumping around to your favourite song, is guarenteed to lift your mood. It doesn't have to be the drag or effort that everyone thinks. Even if you just do a small bit, you should feel the benefits.

3. Don't sweat the small stuff
A lot of us are rushing around and stressing about all the things we have to do when some of them aren't half as important and we make them out to be. If you don't let the little things get to you and learn to take them in your stride, you will be able to relax and enjoy life more.

4. Have Faith
I am defintely guilty of overworrying and overthining, especially about the future. I put myself into a bad mood by fretting over what is going to happen next year or stressing that I don't know what to do with my life yet. If we all just have faith that no matter what happens, it will all turn out okay in the end and this is the path we must take (even if it doesn't look so great right now). Believing that it will all work out eventually will help to stop you bringing yourself down with negative thoughts.

5. Do Something you love every day
Life would be pretty awful if we never got to do anything we truly love so try to do something you love every day. I'm not talking about making a living out of what you love, but just do something that you love each day even if it is just for 30 minutes. If you love reading, meeting your friends or painting a piece of artwork, then make time to do it. This also gives you something to look forward to for the rest of the day.

So those are my 5 simple tips to become happier. I hope you enjoyed this blog post. If you did, then please save it on Bloglovin or give it a +1 on Google Plus. Also, leave a comment below of any tips you have to become happier in your day to day life. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Talk to you soon.

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Je Ne Sais Pas | Casual Street Look

As I was scrolling along the River Island website recently, I put together a casual look with some of the items I saw. This is sort of a casual daytime look to wear to college or shopping with friends. 

1. Khaki Green Bomber Jacket - River Island (€60)

The first item I chose was this khaki green bomber jacket. I have been obsessed with green bomber jackets lately. I bought one like this in a small high street shop for €25 euros and I love it. It is one of my favourite things to wear when it's not too cold out. 

2. Black Chunky Ankle Boots - River Island (€50)

Next, I chose these black chunky ankle boots which I love a lot! My sister has these and I really want a pair too. They are the perfect accessory for the cooler months.  

3. Black Print Oversized T-shirt- River Island (€15)

One of my favourite items from this look is the oversized Je Ne Sais Pas T-shirt. This would have come in so handy back in college when I was studying french and this was my go-to phrase (I don't know). Anytime a teacher would ask me a question in French, I could just point to my t-shirt :P I really like the simplicity of this t-shirt; the white font on the black, with the small area of designed material behind the letters. 

4. Black Fringed Bucket Handbag - River Island (€43)

I have never been a fan of fringed clothes or accessories, it always seemed a little too western to me. When it comes to handbags, however, it seems that I love fringe. It really just adds a bit of edginess to an outfit. Also, I love the relaxed feel of this handbag, you could wear it with almost anything. 

5. Washed Black High Waisted Molly Jeans - River Island (€50)

And last of all, I chose a staple product; the black high waisted skinny jeans. River Island's jeans are great quality so I thought these would be perfect as the final item of the look.  

So that was a quick look that I put together. I hope you enjoyed this post! If you did, then please save it on Bloglovin or give it a +1 on Google Plus. Also, leave a comment below of what your favourite piece from the look is. Talk to you soon. 

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