Tan Tales: Bellamianta Tanning Lotion Review

If you know what I look like in person, you'll know that I'm as white as Caspar the Friendly Ghost. I reflect light when I go on sunny holidays, all 'Ivory' foundations look like Wotsit dust on me, and small children run screaming when I walk down the street. Just joking about that last bit - sort of. The point is, I am ghostly pale, and mostly I'm cool with it and embrace my pale skin but sometimes I want a little bit of a glow, usually if I have a big night out or an event. 

I won a Bellamianta Medium tanning lotion a while back in a hamper, and decided to finally give it a go. Bellamianta have been all over the bloggersphere recently and are said to be excellent tans so I was excited to try it. I usually use Cocoa Brown or St Moriz mousse when I do tan, so using a lotion was a bit of unfamiliar territory for me.

I put on some Cocoa Brown tanning gloves and a mitt and got to work with the lotion. I'm a devil for not exfoliating and moisturising my skin because, effort, but I did use some Cocoa Brown Chocolate Whip moisturiser beforehand, and I found the lotion blended in perfectly even though my skin was still a little bit dry. It smelt pleasant (no gross biscuity smell) and the colour looked nicely golden brown without being too brown. I enlisted in the help of my boyfriend to help me put tan on my back and he actually did a pretty good job even though you know what lads are like when it comes to tanning!

I applied my tan during the day so that I didn't ruin the sheets (I'm also known to, erm, drool in my sleep so I didn't want any snail trails down my neck #TMI) so I popped on a loose black outfit and went about my day. I waited about 4 hours before washing it off but I could have done with leaving it on longer. The end result was a nice, subtle golden brown colour which made me look a bit healthier but not totally Tango'd.

Top: My arm after the tanning lotion. Bottom: My left leg is before tan, my right leg is after the tan.

I was very impressed with the lotion overall, although I am still a tanning mousse kinda gal. Again, I'd definitely leave the lotion on overnight next time - snail trails and all. I have a wedding next Thursday which I want to tan for so I'll definitely be giving the Bellamianta Tanning Lotion another go for then! Hope you enjoyed this post and as always, feel free to follow and comment.

Slimming World: Fad or Fact?

Happy 2017! New year, new me, and all that jazz. And what better way to start the new year than with a blog post on a topic that is so relevant for this time of the year? Diets. It seems like everyone is watching what they eat more than ever lately. And there's nothing wrong with that - within reason.

One of the 'diets' that has piqued my interest in particular recently has been Slimming World, for the simple reason it advertises itself as a lifestyle change rather than a diet. I don't do diets, they don't work for me, and all I can think about is cake if I even consider calorie counting.

I've always had a bit of an issue with binge eating. I'd go into my room and eat 6 packets of crisps and an entire packet of biscuits in one go (and more) without even a second thought. As a teenager I never thought of it as bingeing, just extreme snacking, but as I grew older and learned more about living a healthy lifestyle, I realised how destructive it was.

Since starting college and moving out of home I've gained 2 stone. When you're eating junk all day, most days, it's easy to put on weight quick as anything. The main thing is stopping it before it gets too far. And that's what I've started to do.

Laurence (my boyfriend, whom I also live with) also began to notice our lifestyle wasn't as healthy as it should be, and we sat down and talked about it. We'd both been reading about Slimming World for a while and knew people who'd had success with is - not just for weight loss but also for cleaning up their diet a bit. We decided to give it a go when January started. We had nothing to lose (except a few pounds!)

So, what exactly is Slimming World? Essentially it's a trussed-up low calorie, low fat diet that focuses on filling 'free' foods (lean meats, fruit, vegetables, pasta, potatoes and rice). That's all good, right? That's a normal healthy diet, sure, but there are aspects of Slimming World I don't particularly agree with. 

Foods that are high in fat/sugar, such as chocolate and crisps, are full of 'syns' (points allocated to junk food or food of low nutritional value - you get 15 syns a day), which is fair enough. However, an avocado is 14 syns. Oil is highly synned, even coconut oil. And as for nuts and seeds - forget about it. Slimming World misses out a key point of a healthy diet - the inclusion of healthy fats. Several people who do Slimming World have noticed their hair getting brittle and their skin getting dry, because their diet doesn't include enough healthy fats. 

For me, personally, I've been doing Slimming World a week now and it has helped me stop the binge eating. Some argue it fuels binge eating due to the fact it doesn't teach you how to stop eating junk - just reduce it. However, I live by the mantra 'everything in moderation' and I think it would be a sad life to not have a little bit of something you love every now and again. I save my syns for the evening and have something small and sweet, or a packet of crisps, or biscuits, and it works for me.

As for the weight loss aspect, Laurence and I weighed ourselves after a week and discovered I'd lost 7.5 pounds and he'd lost 10 pounds - not bad, eh?! It's also encouraging me to drink more fluids. I'm killer for going the whole day and only drinking one glass of water, but lately I've been having several green teas and glasses of water to keep hydrated.

If you're still on the fence about it, here are a few pros and cons to Slimming World. Most of the pros also have cons to counteract them, so it's up to you to decide whether Slimming World is for you or not.

Pros:

• You can eat as much fruit, veg, potatoes, rice and pasta as you want. You're encouraged to eat loads of fruit and veg (they recommend you fill at least a third of your plate with fruit or veg).
• Treats aren't off limits - you get 15 'syns' a day to use on whatever you want.
• You eat mostly low calorie, low fat foods so it is fairly easy to lose weight whilst doing it.
• Depending on what you buy, it is quite a cheap diet. 
• Meals are fun because you can eat such a variety of foods.

Cons:

• Slimming World encourages a lot of processed foods, and artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame. I really do not agree with this aspect of Slimming World as there's so much controversy around sweeteners. I personally limit anything highly processed or with sweeteners in it to a couple of times a week.
• Slimming World doesn't really teach you how to eat healthy portion sizes. I see a lot of people's pictures of their meals and they're gigantic, and all carbs, without a lot of veg. I'd recommend filling a third or half of your plate with vegetables or salad, and then a fist size serving of protein and carbs, to keep your portion sizes healthy.
• There's no calorie counting. Slimming World says you can eat as many 'free' foods as you want, but let's be real here - if you eat 2,000 calories worth of pasta and nothing else you'll feel rubbish and most likely won't lose weight.
• The classes and membership are expensive. I can't afford to pay to go to the groups or join online because I'm a student, so I do it all from home. If you know someone with the books it can be a great help, or join groups on Facebook.
• You only get 1 serving of dairy (milk, cheese etc) and 1 serving of fibre (bread, cereal etc) a day, the rest you have to syn. If you're like Laurence and I and love your cheese and bread this might be hard.

So there you have it! I've tried to be as unbiased as possible when writing this, because as I've said I disagree with some of the principles of Slimming World, but I can't say it doesn't work for me. Let's face it, everyone is different. IIFYM works for some people, calorie counting works for others, Paleo makes some thrive and others run away screaming. There's no one lifestyle for everyone, so it's up to you to figure out what works for you. If you were considering Slimming World, I hope this was a bit helpful! In the end, all that matters is that you stay healthy and happy.

Glammed Up For A Good Cause

If you follow my mum on social media, you may have seen the buzz around Jono's Journey. Jono's Journey is a GoFundMe campaign set up by my mum recently. Here's a bit of the background story: Jono is my brother, who has Asperger's Syndrome - a form of Autism. As well as this, he also has Kyphosis (a severe curving of the spine resulting in surgery to have titanium rods inserted into his back). His condition is worsening due to our not-so-wonderful hospital waiting lists, which means he's in constant pain, finds it hard to breathe and needs help with some day-to-day tasks. Despite all of this, he is one of the most optimistic people I know, and he's always smiling and laughing. 

Often, people with Asperger's Syndrome have one particular thing they're extremely interested in - Jono's is Pokémon. You may think it's just a game you used to play as a kid, but for Jono it's a way to cope, to escape his pain and take his mind off things. Long hospital appointments don't seem so bad when you have a virtual reality to escape to. At this point, Jono is so good at the game he's ranked at number 3 in his age division of the best Pokémon players in Ireland. Due to this, he now qualifies to go all the way to San Francisco to play at the World Championships - no mean feat! 

Due to Jono's condition, he couldn't make it to America on his own without a little help. Because of money issues, my mum knew she just couldn't afford to go with him. It would absolutely break Jono's heart if he couldn't fulfil this dream, so my mum, on the advice of her friend, did something she never thought she'd do - set up a GoFundMe. We never ever thought it would take off like it has. The support has been absolutely overwhelming. The target was met in less than a day, and continues to keep soaring. When I read about the generosity of people, from all over the world, people we've never even met (as they say, "Strangers are just friends you've never met"), I started crying. Watching someone you love go through worsening pain every day is so hard, but watching them get the opportunity to live their dream is heartwarming, and I'm so proud of him. Because of all the wonderful people in this world, my mum and brother are now booked to head to the U.S. in August - and I couldn't be happier for them.

Many local businesses have lended a helping hand to the campaign - one of them is Sligo Hairdressing Academy, a hairdressing school located on Holburn Street, Sligo. They came up with the fantastic idea of running 'Jono's Journey Pamper Days', where you can get your hair done for a discounted price with the money going towards Jono's Journey. With prices starting from €8 for a wash and blow dry going up to €25 for a cut and colour, you can't go wrong! The work is done by experienced hairdressing students and is fully supervised, so don't let the name put you off - I promise you won't lose an ear ;-)

I headed along today for the first of the fundraising days to get a cut and a blowdry. It's not often I get my hair done so I was so excited to treat myself, and a haircut was well overdue. I was greeted by Frances, the lovely lady who runs the academy, who handed me over to David - one of the extremely talented students. He started by washing and conditioning my hair. I don't know about you, but getting my hair properly washed is one of my favourite things in the world. Then it was time to get cutting. I just needed a trim as I'm trying to grow my hair, and a restyle of my side fringe as it wasn't even a fringe anymore, just a flap of hair! For some reason my fringe grows like it's on speed.

I sat there looking like a potato with my wet hair and my hairdressing gown (you know when you go to the hairdressers and sit in front of the mirror wondering if you've always looked like an egg with hair?) while David quickly and competently trimmed my hair and got rid of all the straggly bits. He cut my side fringe back into shape so it swooped across my forehead. It's so nice to not have to keep shoving my hair out of my eyes or get a mouthful of fringe! David actually listened to how much I wanted off unlike some hairdressers who cut off too much and make you spend hours Googling 'how to make hair grow 10 inches overnight'.

Next it was time for the curls. I was looking for a wavey, curly look, so David decided to do some soft bouncy GHD curls. I used to have a GHD and this was one of my favourite things to do with my hair but I sold it *sob* so now I've become lazy and rarely do anything with my hair. I'm always a bit wary of anyone wielding a hair straightener near my head as I've had a few bad experiences of getting the tips of my ears burnt - ouch! I had nothing to worry about. David was so gentle and I didn't once have to duck under the chair.

The end result was gorgeously silky, bouncy soft curls. I was absolutely thrilled with how it turned out, and even more so that now, almost 10 hours later, the curls are still intact! That's so rare for me because my hair is quite thick so usually any wave or curl drops out after about 30 minutes. A truly fantastic job done by David.

I couldn't not show off my new hair, so my boyfriend and I headed to Sweet Beat for a smoothie bowl and then to Hazelwood for a picnic. Pics courtesy of Laurence! There's a bit of a photographer in him I think.

If you'd like to contribute to the campaign, or just treat yourself, you can find Sligo Hairdressing Academy here on Facebook, or call them on 086 400 9559. The next dates for the fundraising days are the 20th of June and the 27th of June. You can also check out Jono's Journey here. Thanks again to Frances and all at Sligo Hairdressing Academy for letting me come in and get my hair done, and for being so generous in helping Jono's dream come true.

A Lovely Getaway: My Valentine's Weekend

You might have read my last blog about doing Valentine's day on the cheap. Well, my boyfriend and I did just that for our Valentine's weekend - and we had a whale of a time!

After freezing my arse off at the train station, Laurence and I exchanged our gifts to each other. He got me a really funny lovely card (usually I hate cards but he has excellent taste in cards) and some gorgeous presents. I had mentioned how I used to love those Claire's surprise/goody bags as a child so he decided to make me a grown up version! He gave me a box of my absolute favourite Booja Booja truffles, sweets, a rose, Lucky Charms, snacks, a heart shaped photo frame, a fantastic elephant cushion - elephants are my favourite animal - and a 'dud' present of some Mr Muscle bathroom wipes. Because what surprise bag is complete without a boobie prize?!

We chilled at his house Friday night and had a lovely Indian meal from a place in Claremorris called Dawat. We had a gorgeous meal of chapatis, pilau rice, bombay aloo and poppadums. I never really branched out to Indian food before meeting Laurence and now it's one of my favourite things to eat.

On Saturday it was time to head up to Claremorris, where we'd booked a night away. Before we checked in we decided to check out the town of Claremorris, the metropolis that it is. I have to say, there are some brilliant shops there, most notably the charity shops. I got a few nice bits for next to nothing! We drove around for ages and went to about 5 different places in the hopes of getting a wedge baguette (I know, romantic) and then ate it in the car. To everyone else we must seem like the world's most boring couple! ;-) 

 After doing some shopping it was time to check into our self catering accommodation at Valley Lodge Farm Accommodation. To be honest, we weren't really sure what to expect as it sounded like a glorified hostel. We arrived (after driving up the country roads in the back arse of nowhere - grass growing in the middle of the tarmac etc.) and met Eugene, one of the hostel owners, who showed us around. I have to say it was a lovely place - clean, bright, with a large lounge/dining room area and a big well stocked communal kitchen. It certainly wasn't your usual grubby hostel! We booked a private room so we got our own en-suite bathroom with a shower which was lovely. We booked through Booking.com which ended up being a pain - we thought the money had been taken already but Eugene told us it hadn't so we had to pay there and then which was a bit annoying as we thought we'd already paid. To pay by card we had to go into their family home and interrupt poor Mary's dinner she was in the middle of making! Eugene told us he'd leave some milk and bread in the kitchen for breakfast and told us we could leave food in his freezer if we needed to which was a nice touch, although in the end we forgot to buy food for breakfast the next morning. D'oh.

We had a few drinks, got a takeaway, and I was so tuckered out I fell asleep at about 11! No stamina, me.

The hostel room was nice and quiet apart from the other people who came stomping in at around 3 a.m. I will say it was a bit cold as the radiator was right under the window so all the heat was being let out. Laurence, clever man he is, had to tuck the curtains in on the windowsill to keep the heat in. It ended up being roasting in the middle of the night - I woke up drenched in sweat apparently. Sexy. The bed also wasn't the comfiest but I suppose you get what you pay for, it was only €22.50 each. Apart from that I'd go back there - it did the job!

The next day we had to check out before 11:30 a.m. which was a bit of a shame as we'd have loved a sleep in on the Sunday morning. I was hoping we'd get to see some of the many farm animals at Valley Lodge before we left but all I saw was a donkey! As it was such a beautiful sunny day we decided to head up to Castlebar for a gander. Castlebar also has some great shops such as New Look, Swamp, Peacocks and a few charity shops too.

We were both starving as we hadn't eaten breakfast so we went to check out The Olive Tree - an Eastern Mediterranean café & restaurant in Castlebar - for some food. I found the place on Happy Cow (a great website for vegan/vegetarian/dairy free eateries all around the world) and it sounded different so I had high hopes. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. I'm not lying when I say it was one of the best lunches I've ever had!

Upon reading the menu we found lots of tasty options for vegetarians, vegans and meat eaters alike. Laurence decided on the toasted potato bread with salsa, avocado, garlic dressing, salad, olives and the most delicious sweet sauce (I wish I knew what it was!). He customized it so there was no cheese on top which was no problem with our waitress. I chose the falafel pitta with hummus, salad and garlic dressing. We also ordered a side of sweet potato fries to share. Our waitress asked if we were vegan as the dishes contained mayonnaise and we told her we were dairy free. The cherry on top of the cake was when she served us dates with our coffee instead of a biscuit as the biscuits contained dairy. Score! That's good service right there.

Our food came out really quickly and the portions were huge - such good value for money. I took a bite of mine and I swear I swooned, it was absolutely fantastic. Pittas aren't the most attractive things to eat and I was really wolfing it down. How do I have a boyfriend?!

Halfway through both our meals we swapped plates so we could try each other's food (#relationshipgoals) and Laurence's food was just as divine. It was all so flavourful and different to the usual boring sandwiches you'd usually get in a café. Clean plates all round at our table. The Olive Tree truly is a hidden gem in Castlebar - I'm definitely going back!

After our meal we went to Horkan's garden centre to look at the animals, because we are both really 70 years old. They have hedgehogs and giant ants and meerkats and everything there - it's madness! I'm not really sure why they'd keep meerkats in a pet shop, seems a bit cruel to me, but there you go. I'm also not really sure why you'd want a pet hedgehog unless you wanted to scrub your feet on it!

All in all we had a lovely weekend. It was actually my first Valentine's Day with a boyfriend - I'm so lucky I've found the one I want to spend many more with. I was so sad to be back to normality and back in college on Monday. Roll on the summer time when I have lots of free times for more adventures! I hope you all had a lovely weekend no matter what you did.

Reflecting

Hey blog, it's been a while! Happy New Year to you all. After a blissful Christmas break full of vegging out and eating rubbish, I decided it was time to get my blogging mojo back. I was so busy with exams and love and life I forgot to take some time for myself to focus on the blog. 

My mum mentioned to me that she'd read my previous New Year's blog and that it was interesting to see the changes in my life from just a year. 

Education: This time last year I was a couple of months into a JobBridge internship, now I'm gaining even more experience by completing an Accounting Technicians course. I hope to continue my studies further and get a level 6 in Business Administration, which is what I want to pursue as a career. 

Love life: This time last year I was single and probably wailing into a bag of crisps about how I'd never get a boyfriend - now I'm going out with the man I love who is basically like the missing part of me. In a previous blog I pondered over whether or not I'd ever find someone to dance in the kitchen with me, and now I've found him.

Family: My family life is still as strong as ever. It must be a bit of a change for my parents to have to adjust to me having a serious boyfriend and going to his every weekend but my family are fantastic about it, they've been so supportive and I love them so very much!

Lifestyle: I've been 100% dairy-free for a while now due to becoming intolerant to dairy, and I have to say I find the added health benefits amazing. My skin is clearer, I get less migraines and I haven't had a cold in absolutely ages. I plan on doing a blog about going dairy-free so stay tuned for that if it's something you'd like to try in 2016! I'm also eating meat a lot less now, partly because my boyfriend is a vegetarian but also because my body feels great when I eat this way.

Other notable experiences: Got Invisalign braces. Went to Holland. Went glamping. Learned it's ok to be unsure. Learned that no matter how hard you try, some people just won't be happy for you and that's okay. Volunteered for the Fleadh. Got a new dog. Tried snorkelling and stand-up paddling. Stopped caring so much about what other people think. Inched a little further towards getting my driving licence. Got a tattoo. Turned 20. 

Not bad for a year's work.

Have you been reflecting on the past year? Let me know what you've achieved or want to achieve this year!