L'oréals Extraordinary Clay

Hi All,

So at this stage everyone has heard of the Extraordinary Clay range of hair products from L'oréal, if not I am going to fill you in.

I was intrigued by these products as they sounded right up my street, I have thin, flat, lifeless hair that goes greasy the minute I am finished drying it, so I thought my prayers had been answered. Along with the shampoo and conditioner they also brought out a dry shampoo and a pre-wash mask. I only purchased the shampoo and the mask as I had never used a pre-wash mask before. 

The mask works by applying it to wet hair and leaving it for a few minutes to soak up all the oils from your hair then you just shampoo and condition as normal. My first impressions of these were good as I definitely noticed I got at least and extra day if not 2 out of my hair. I used the shampoo on its own a few times and even that alone made a big difference to my hair, these are definitely products that don't go hand in hand and you can mix and match through the whole range.

However the more I used them the more I felt I was damaging and drying out my hair by stripping too much of the natural oils from it. For people that have thin hair we are definitely stuck in the middle of having too dry or too greasy hair. I have since stopped using the shampoo as the ends of my hair can be quite dry anyway, but once every fortnight I will use the mask just to get all the product build up out of my hair, I think it will be a product I will always keep in my shower. After using these however I do believe if you have thick hair that goes greasy too quick then these are the products for you. It really does work on greasy hair just not thin greasy hair.

Lynda x

My Favourite Highlighters

Hi again,

With summer in full swing I love a good highlight, and find myself constantly adding to my collection. It can make such a difference to even a simple daytime make up look and its definitely a must have in my make up bag, so I thought I would share with you some of my favourites.

Catrice High Glow Mineral Highlighting Powder

One of the best highlighters I have tried is an absolute steal from Catrice costing a mere €5.50, this is right up there with the best. After using both I could easily compare this to MaryLou from The Balm. It is so pigmented and has a beautiful rosy glow, using a fan brush this applies so easily and for something so cheap you don't have to scrap at the powder to get a glow. It is in high demand but keep an eye in penneys as it is a must have for that shimmer we all love.

SoSu Contour Palette

This palette was one purchase I couldnt wait to get my hands on, reading reviews before hand I wasn't sure if it was worth the money as people seemed to have mixed feelings about it. The reviews were almost 50% loved it and 50% didn't but me being me I needed to decide for myself. However I am so glad I did purchase as this has an amazing highlighter in the palette which is now one of my favourites. Following SoSueMe on snapchat I heard her talking about the best way to apply the highlighter and that was with a damp beauty blender, as its a cream highlight, and pat it onto your face and thats exactly what I did. I sprayed some of my Botanics Instant Moisture Mist onto my blender and patted the highlight onto the highest points of my cheek bone and down the centre of my nose. It went on so easy and it didn't take much to get that lovely glow that I adore. the lasting power of this palette is amazing too, with a spray of my NYX setting spray it stayed perfect all day, a big thumbs up from me.

SoSu Contour Palette €29.95

The Pippa Palette

The Pippa Palette is another must have in my opinion, it has everything in one palette and can get you through from day to night. One of my favourite things about this palette is the highlighter (called Lulu). It is a powder highlight with an amazing glow, a little goes along way and using a fan brush its as simple as just brushing your cheek bone. I brought this palette on holidays with me and everyday I used the highlight just to give a nice summery glow. The thing I like most about Lulu is it works just as well with matt foundations because sometimes I find the cream highlights just cling to the matt foundation and don't blend well leaving my skin looking dirty and muddy. As an all rounder the Pippa Palette is great, pigmentation is amazing and is so handy for travelling so you don't have to bring 100 products.

Pippa Palette €34.99

Hope you enjoyed, Lynda x

Miss Fit Skinny Tea

Hi all,

I am back with another review, I was one to jump on the Miss Fit Skinny Tea bandwagon. I had read good things about this Teatox on other blogs so I decided to try it, mind you I didn't buy it to help with weight loss but more for my skin and energy. I purchased the tea and infuser directly from their website as it was not available near me to buy in a shop at the time. I went for the 14 day teatox which was €24.99 and the tea infuser which was €5.00. The shipping was €1.99 bringing the total to €31.98. Bit expensive just for tea but I was excited to try it all the same. It wasn't quick to arrive so be patient.

When you purchase the tea from their website you get an email which includes a meal plan to follow to get the best results from the tea, although I didn't follow the meal plan as I didn't need to lose weight I did my best to eat as healthy as I could. Reading about it it did sound great, it is the only laxative free detox tea out there and lets be honest thats a great plus! It contains 100% natural ingredients from Sencha Green Tea to Lemon Grass and Chamomile just to name a few. And the best thing about it, its Irish.

So how does it work? You fill the diffuser with the tea and leave it in boiling water for up to 5 minutes, once the diffuser is filled you then reuse it for all your cups during the day, so you don't have to keep refilling it. To get the best results it is recommended you drink it before your meals and to have up to 4 cups a day. It is also recommended that you cut out sugars while your drinking this and avoid tea and coffee. (I am tea addict and was not looking forward to this!) And drink plenty of water to help with the detox. 

My first impressions were good, it tasted nice which is half the battle, I would drink herbal teas a lot anyway so if you like herbal tea you will definitely like this. I found it so easy to drink and as the days went on I was choosing this over tea anyway, especially while running around after my son, all I needed to do was boil the kettle and pour it in a mug and it was ready, because it tastes nice it was easy choose this over sugary drinks or tea or coffee. And if I was away from home for the day I'd put the diffuser in a small container and bring it with me, so handy! I stuck out the detox for the 14 days and managed to scrape out another day or 2 from the end of the bag.

To be honest I didn't see much difference during the 14 days, my skin was covered in spots before I started it and it didn't change at all during the detox, it took almost 2 months and a week in the sun for it to clear up. However once I had finished the tea I realised afterwards how well I felt while I was drinking it, I definitely had more energy and just felt more awake.

Although I can't comment on the weight loss side of it there are plenty more reviews about it and although it didn't help clearing up my spots I really like it, so much so I am on my third 14 day detox. I am just back from a week in Mallorca and Miss Fit Skinny Tea was top of my list to purchase when I came back to help get rid of all the toxins from my Holiday. Starting this detox my skin is in good condition but I am hoping this gives it the final boost to be glowing and completely spot free.

It is expensive but I think it is worth it and if you keep an eye out most of the chemists that stock it have discounts, along with the website. I got my last bag for €19.99 in Sam McCauleys, and the diffuser is reusable so you only need to buy one. 

Lynda x

The Right To Be Mean?

This is a topic that has been brought up by many bloggers before and even before I started writing my own blog I could never quite understand. Why people feel they have the right to be mean and nasty to people they don't even know?

I could never comment something mean on any form of Social Media, its just not in me to be mean and I cannot understand how others find it so easy? I had wanted to start my own blog for some time now, I enjoy trying out new products and I thought it would be a great distraction from being a stay at home Mammy. It was the thought of a complete stranger saying nasty things to me that held me back until one day I realised by not doing what I wanted to do I was leaving those keyboard warriors win before I had even started.

Joanne Larby (Make Up Fairy Pro) is an incredible Woman, I love watching her snaps about her fitness journey, her make up skills, and just her general day to day life and I have also purchased her book. She recently took to her snapchat to air her opinion on keyboard warriors and it was 100% perfect. I am only human and of course I get jealous of the new handbag someone has or the new shoes but does that give me the right to be nasty to those people? No! Why would I? Why would I take the time out of my day to make someone feel bad over something they have worked hard to get, and even if they got it for free, still none of my business.

One point Joanne made was to get a pen and paper and write down goals or ways that you too can get the designer handbag or whatever it may be that you want, and that is what I do. I write down all the expensive things that I want to get and I work towards them, yes I can't just go into a shop and buy what I want when I want, but who knows maybe someday I will be.

If I follow someone on Social Media that I don't really like or agree with what they say or do, I unfollow them, simple. I wish everyone else could just do the same. If you don't like someones filter on their photo or something they have said, just ignore it, unfollow them, don't be mean, just because your only means of communication with these people is through a phone or laptop does not give you the right to say what you want. You wouldn't say something horrible to a stranger on the street, Influencers and Bloggers are no different.

They are people, people we don't know personally and have no idea what they are going through in their personal lives, FaceBook, Instagram and Blogs have posts and pictures about their lives that they want you to see, they don't go into detail about every single aspect of their life, same way I don't. It costs absolutely nothing to be nice but you could be the difference between someone having an amazing day or a sh*t day. Before you comment think 'Would I like that said to me'?

Lynda x