Take some time out and rejuvenate you!

The Body Shop Ireland are very excited to announce that on Saturday the 7th of August they will be offering a Pamper day for all the ladies who love to be spoilt!

Its your day to relax and take some time out, so why not pop in and have your make-up done by one of The Body Shop’s top make-up artists, treat yourself to a 15 minute mini facial or simply indulge in a relaxing hand and nail massage.

The stores will be offering:

1.  Express Mineral Make-over’s
2. Relaxing hand and nail massages
3. Discover Our Skin Care - 15 minute mini facials for €15 redeemable off a skin care product of your choice.

As appointments are limited for the facials we are recommending that customers book their appointments in advance and secure their appointment with a €5 deposit to avoid disappointment.

For more information check out The Body Shop Ireland’s Facebook page.

We also have a Pamper Yourself hamper to give away, all you need to do is comment below.

Competition is restricted to readers within the Republic of Ireland, one entry per person, competition will close Friday 13th August.

Mwah

*Winners will be chosen using random.org.

After months of research I finally bit the bullet & booked in for my 12 week blow dry. I have held off writing my blog post for awhile so I could really live with it & let you know my honest opinion.

What I learnt while trawling through the web was that there are many different products on the available on the market. Now all I had to do was find one that I liked the sound of with good reviews online & a hair salon I trusted to do the treatment.

I was torn between Dylan Bradshaw, Pink Hairdressing and my hairdresser Fusion in Dun Laoghaire. And I decided to go with the place I trust, Fusion.

On the days leading up to my appointment I left my hair to dry naturally with no product & naturally with some mousse to show how sometime I wear it wavy.

Left - Hair left to dry naturally, no product - Right Hair left to dry naturally with mousse

The Process

The first step in the process is to have your hair washed with a special shampoo which opens the hair follicles so that it can hold the Keratin. Then your hair is fully blow dried.

The Keratin is then put in, your hair is separated and it is put in like a full head of colour. Your hair feels wet again with the product, then you are left for approx 20 mins with designer plastic cap on!!!

Left - Hair with Keratin in it - Right Keratin left in for 20 mins with plastic cap

After the 20 mins, your hair is blow dried again and then the Keratin is sealed into the hair by using a special flat iron that reaches temperatures of 450°.

Keratin dried into my hair - already looks incredibly shiny & straight

For the next 72 hours I had to leave the Keratin in my hair, not clip it back, tie it up or even put it behind my ear… As I wash my hair every second day this was pure torcher… by Day 3 it was disgustingly greasey & Day 4 was unbearable…

Fusion are the only hairdressers in my research that invite you back to the salon to have the product washed out after the 72 hours, really nice touch. I was practically banging their door down at 9am to let me in to have it washed out.

By 9.30 I had gloriously shiny, soft, straight, non frizzy hair… just what I wanted.

Finished results

The treatment in Fusion costs between €200 - €250 depending on length and thickness of your hair. The price includes the special Keratin Complex Shampoo & Conditioner and the complimentary blow dry to wash out the product after the 72 hours.

Having lived with the 12 Week Blow Dry for 2 weeks I have found my hair is definitely softer, it blow drys in less time & I can leave my house without running my GHD through it.

However, my hair is not as I expected it to be after the process. I cannot leave it to try naturally, it still looks like an unruly mess as in Photo 1. For nights out or when I have something on I still use my GHD.

Maybe my hair wasn’t frizzy enough in the first place to need a 12 week blow dry… maybe it didn’t work to its full potential in my hair… who knows but ladies, my advice would be save your cash! It’s not cheap treatment and I don’t feel I’ve had value for money with my hair type.

Unfortunately I will have to pack my GHD for my holidays

Fusion Hairdressing, 53A Upper Georges Street, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin TEL: 01 284 5016

Mwah

Me on my 21st Birthday (size 12), one of the photos that inspired me to join WW

So I got away with my over indulgence in London last week, however I was expecting the delayed reaction but luckily enough I am -1ibs again this week. Some might think -1ibs isn’t a big acheievement however I think it’s bloody brilliant! I may add it’s my TOTM too so even the bloated feeling has lifted since I was on the scales

This week I made the Beef & Guinness Casserole I mentioned in Week 1. It was delicious and I made it for my parents. The recipe says fillet steak so that’s what I bought however upon reflection, sirloin would have been just fine & saved a few €€€!

I also learnt of a restaurant in Stepaside called Stone Grill attached to The Step Inn which offers the “Meat on the Stone” cooking option which is hugely popular in Portugal & Spain so myself and Brian went to try it out. The food was absolutely delicious and the staff were fantastic. I had the Taster Plate which consisted of a tuna steak, sirloin stead and a skewer of prawns with a side salad & chips (I did stuff a few in my mouth!) for €20 it was good value. I wasn’t too keen on the tuna & I think I would go for the fillet next time (€24).

My exercise was pretty non existent this week, a quick walk down the pier on Monday evening with Brian & Muffin.

This week is my last full one before my holidays, and I’d love to kick it up a notch because as soon as I get to Dublin airport, it’s game over! Well, I’m not going to do anything ridiculous, I’ll know what choices to make but put it this way I won’t be tracking my points!

How did everyone else get on this week? Any more recipes for me to try? Who knew WW would turn me into a domestic goddess!!!

Mwah

I went to my much loved Carter Beauty in Blackrock for my treatment. I opted for a classic French polish. It looked fab, it was much shiner than usual nail polish and went on in about 45 mins.

The nails were still thin and looked very natural however by Day 4 the edges had started to lift on two of the nails. I happened to be calling into the salon for my tanning before going to London on Monday so the girls offered to redo the nails… I declined at first but then said why not.

(please excuse the scankie tan finger)

On Friday morning, Day 9 the only nails that weren’t lifting were the ones that we redone last Sunday. I couldn’t be bothered with them so peeled them all off. Probably not the best for my nails but I was at my desk in work.

I now just have a strengthener on them & plan to paint them with my Chanel Particuliére tonight before bed.

I did love the nails but 3 week manicure it wasn’t!

Has anyone else had it done? I have only heard good stories from others so maybe I was just unlucky.

Would I give it another go…. maybe but not for my holidays next month like I’d planned.

Mwah

I had a dilemma this week… I have been in London at a conference for work and to say WW went out the window is an understatement.

While I did try to be on my best behaviour it was incredibly difficult and not helping was the fact we were promoting Boxerchips, our fab range of crisps.

So after missing my offical WW class yesterday my dilemma this morning was to go to an alternative class for weigh in or skip it till next Weds & try undo the damage. My fear was that I would continue on my downward spiral if I mitched this week so after a quick Twitter poll I headed along to the Rochestown Lodge class this morning.

And boy was I glad I did! I am surprised and delighted to announce I have lost - 1ibs.

Now, I am under no false illusion that there may be a delayed reaction to my few days of indulgence but now that I am back on Irish soil I am going to have a good week & continue to do my best until my holibops in August.

The photo I chose to include this week was a fabulous fillet steak I had for dinner on Monday night in London, yum!

Hope everyone is having a good week.

Mwah

Sorry for the delay, I have been away the past few days but as promised the winners are:

Nokia 5310 is #26 - Eileen Gallagher

And

€50 Carphone Warehouse voucher is #23 - Paula O’Driscoll

I will be in touch with both winners for full postal information.

Well done & thank you to all who took part.

Mwah

Today I am beaming from ear to ear as a proud owner of my first (and hopefully not last) Silver 7 from Weight Watchers!

I felt I was good with my food all week & I exercised a fair bit but for some reason I felt heavy. My personal goal this week was to loose 1ibs to make my half a stone benchmark and by golly I did it.

On Friday night as a treat I picked up pizza bases from The Artizan Pizza Company (I think) in Thomas’s in Foxrock, they are 5 points, the tomato sauce is free, points for the cheese obviously & veg were free too. Could afford to have them every night of the week but certainly fulfilled the pizza craving.

I also made the Pasta Arrabbiata as promised and it was fab. I even threw in a few prawns from M&S with the leftover for another evening meal.

I also really enjoyed the AquaFit class in Stillorgan last week, I definitely felt it the next day.

This week will be tough, I am away at a conference for work Mon - Weds & will also miss my weigh in (could be a good thing) but with my holidays fast approaching, I plan to go to a meeting on Thursday when I’m back to keep me focused.

I’ve lost 7 pounds in 3 weeks, it would be a massive achievement to try and do another 7 before my hols in August and reach a stone but I don’t want to get my hopes up as I reckon I might plateau as my body is getting used to all this healthy food. We’ll see, I can only try my best!

Thanks again for everyone’s support & suggestions, couldn’t do it without you,

Mwah

Woo Hoo! I can’t believe it I have lost 3 1/2 pounds this week.

Hand on heart even though I was good on my weekdays after a heavy weekend with drink & yummy food at Cian’s Bar Mitzvah I didn’t hold out much hope when I stepped on the scales. I nearly jumped for joy, oh wait now, I kinda did

I stuck to my point allowance religiously bar Sat & Sun . I got a number of  walks in with different friends, thank you Ciara, Kathryn and Shauna for your support and Brian who sat down with me on Monday & planned our  meals of the week before going to Tesco to get supplies.

I did make the WW Spag Bol last week and it was delicious, not sure about the celery, might try without it next time. Tomorrow we are planning to do the Pasta Arrabbiata so I will let you know how it turns out next week.

Going to vary my exercise this week, swimming tonight & aquafit tomorrow should help and of course I’ll be walking Muffin too.

How is everyone else doing?

I am only 1 pound away from my first “silver 7″ so I am focusing on this for the coming week to keep me motivated & to bring my total weight loss to  1/2 a stone!

Mwah

To celebrate the opening of the new Carphone Warehouse store in the Ashleaf Shopping Centre, Crumlin, we are offering two lucky readers the chance to win a €50 voucher to spend in the Carphone Warehouse and a Nokia 5310.

The new store is located just opposite Dunnes Stores in the Ashleaf Shopping Centre in Unit 4.

With the widest range of phones across all four networks, The Carphone Warehouse offer independent advice on call tariffs and packages. Why not call into any of the Carphone Warehouse stores nationwide or visit www.carphonewarehouse.ie for great offers.

To enter this fantastic giveaway, it couldn’t be easier! Please join our Facebook page and leave a comment below. Competition closes Friday 16th July.

Good luck!

Mwah

* Unfortunately due to the nature of  this competition it is only available to people in the Republic of Ireland

** Winners will be picked using random.org.

In case you didn’t have a chance to check out Carter Beauty’s Spring Pamper Package they are now offering a fantastic Summer deal. A microdermabrasion diamond extract facial, a back peel using a strawberry scrub, eyebrow tidy with choice of wax or tweeze, followed by a cucumber & mint pedicure and a file, buff & polish for your fingers and all for only €99.

Can you believe it? First Marissa Carter brings us €15 Spray Tans for the Summer and now this!

Marissa & I met recently when I became a regular in the salon and she invited me in for the Summer Package. I had been looking forward to my pamper evening for weeks and it just happened to be the night of my first WW weigh in so it was a lovely treat.

I was greeted by the lovely Laura in the salon who brought me through the package as I had a few questions. Laura knew her stuff and explained everything step by step. I also loved the fact that Laura was my therapist for the full 2.5 hours I was in the salon.

We started with the back scrub and it was lovely. I wouldn’t have said my back was a particular problem area however over the last few weeks I’ve had some spots that have actually hurt me so perfect timing for the scrub. I asked Laura if she could think of any reason why these would start, probably my addiction to fake tan we decided and also it’s very hard to exfoliate your own back!

Then we moved on to the microdermabrasion facial. I had no idea what this would in tale. I had a imagined the usual deep cleansing facial I would have usually opted for with a special sort of mask, however I was wrong. My skin was cleansed and then Laura showed me the magic machine which does all the hard work! It’s like a small torch (with no light!) that has teeny tiny diamonds, when placed on your face it there is a small feeling of suction & it makes a funny popping noise as it is moved around your face. It is manoeuvred twice around the face, changing to a smaller head for in around the noise and chin which are prone to congestion. Afterwards a lovely cool face mask was put on for 10 mins. It was very pleasant & my skin feels softer & may even look brighter today.

Then a quick eyebrow tidy & we were ready to go out to the comfy big pedicure areas in the salon.

As one who doesn’t like people touching my feet, I did warn Laura I may jump a bit but decided to give it a go and she was very gentle with me. After a nice soak, my toenails were given a cut & tidy, including pushing back the cuticles & a quick file (I HATE that part, hurts my teeth!), I had a lovely cucumber and mint scrub & massage & then my favourite bit, the painting. I love doing bright, strong colours on my toes for Summer but when I get them done I nearly always opt for a French polish, I know a professional pedicure will last much longer than mine & the French polish just goes with everything!

I must mention that Carter Beauty have wide a range of nail polish brands to choose from including OPI, Jessica & China Glaze. While my tootsies dried we finished the package with a file, buff & polish. I chose OPI, Black Cherry Chutney for my hands, its very similar to OPI Lincoln Park After Dark which I have at home.

How did I feel about the package overall? For €99 it’s everything you need before your holidays or to prepare your skin for the ‘actual’ nice weather we’re having here. My only negative is down to personal choice, I’m not sure I would choose the microdermabrasion facial over my regular deep cleanse, with extraction facial. I can still see some blackheads on my chin & cheeks that I would have hoped would have disappeared but for €99 I would thoroughly recommend it, sure a mani & pedi could cost you that in some places!

The original reason I  began going to Carter Beauty is because of their special offer on spray tans, now they are only giving me more reasons to go back… From these fantastic package offers to their latest Gelish 3 week manicure for only €30, if you haven’t heard of it or don’t know what the hell I’m talking about have a look at this short video;

All I can say is make sure you book in advance & see you there!

Carter Beauty, 40 Main Street, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, TEL: 01 210 3624

Mwah