Author: brightandbeautyfull

Snap! Judgements: Only Two Today

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Weird day: went to a PR event, which wasn’t weird, but I almost went to The Dylan instead of the Brasserie du Pont — actually, this is not weird either, I’ve been going to the wrong places for things for about a year now. Sometimes on the wrong day, and one time? Wrong month.

Then I wandered over to the archaeology and history museum which has a freaky exhibit of bog bodies? I think there should have been a warning, I really do. Because: gross, and also I felt sad.

And then what… oh. I’m listening to the radio station that I loved when I lived in Paris (RFM Musique) which was great because they played American music, so it’s not really working the way I thought it would, like, all la vie en rose, or whatever. They are playing Mambo Number Five right now, which does not make me think of Paris, but of my first year living here — my cognition, it is dissonating!

Snap! BREMENN RESEARCH LABS Upper Eyelid Lifter (€60) really feels like it is lifting up my lids! It’s beige, which strikes me as weird, because most eye stuff is white. I’ll get over it, because this the provides instant gratification. Seems dead pricey, but one pump is good enough for both eyes. I’d say this’ll last a good while.

Snap! THE BODY SHOP Lip & Cheek Dome in Crazy for Coral (€15). Me, I’m not so crazy for coral. There is a version in  Pinch Me Pink that looked way more like my thing. The domey-ness of it is pretty cool, and it is very creamy, so it feels nice to apply, but I wasn’t impressed by the pigment, which was pretty weak. That was several snaps, I think.

Actually, this day does make sense, as I eat the second of two Ladurée macarons that were presented with the Eau Thermale Avéne sun protection  products we received at the presentation at the brasserie. This is all French stuff. Okay, less cognitive dissonance, and more making sense out of apparent chaos. Maybe the bog bodies were unlucky Normans who wandered beyond their remit? We’ll never know. {Thanks all the same, I don’t want to.}

Four out of Five Senses: LUSH H’Suan Wen Hua

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Because I am not going to taste any class of beauty product, not even for you, beloved readers.

This is H’Suan Wen Hua Hair Treatment by LUSH.

It looks like this:

A bit like custard, only beige.

It’s got avocado in it, and balsamic vinegar, and watercress — a veritable salad for the hair. Apply it to dry locks before showering and let it do its intensive hydrating for twenty minutes.

It felt a bit light, which turned out to be a good thing, due to the amount of hair that sprouts out of my skull. There’s a lot to cover.

This is how much I used:

One third of the pot, not bad. Its lightness translated into excellent coverage, so that a little bit went all the way.

The smell? Slightly odd. Sort of like lapsang souchong tea — smoky, a little bacon-y, which I completely do not understand. There are eggs in this too, so maybe they are the culprit? Is it sulphur?

But, this is how my hair looked:

Shot in my favourite location, the back of the 46A.

Look, so shiiiiiny! And sleek, and the highlights, popping even more than they did the day I got them! Highly recommend, even with the odd fragrance.

And it felt crazy-soft, and still does, two days later.

I can hear you saying, Yeah, and the sense of hearing, Sue? I don’t know how to pronounce the name of this! So there. What’s it sound like to you?

Sounds like: if your hair needs a comprehensive conditioning, you better get some of this.

€11.50/£8.50/$19.95

Okay: Why I Have Fallen Behind as Regards Avon ANEW Clinical Resurfacing Expert Smoothing Fluid

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{I’d like to be nominated in the category of World’s Longest Blog Post Title.}

So, what happened was, I got Botox*, and for weeks, many weeks that may have even added up to a month or so, I was afraid to put anything on my face. I was afraid to even touch it too much. Yeah, crazazay, I know, but even the gentlest exfoliant scared me to bits.

The last thing I was going to do was to finish trialing a thing that was purported to be 79% as effective as professional microdermabrasion, mainly because in my naivety, I wasn’t sure my entire face wouldn’t fall off, in case I put something on it that reacted badly with The B.

I am finally at one with the ‘work’, and understand that it would have been okay to attend to my face again, after 24 hours — make that a week? A week sounds safe…  Anyway, I can do stuff to my skin again.

Now, I am preparing to self-tan, for the big summer push in the Herald, and half the discolorations on my face are going to get all bronzed up, but hey, let’s prepare the canvas as best we can, right?

I’ve got this handily situated on the sink, next to the thing that holds my toothbrushes and paste, so I can see it every day, and will remember to use it.

Impressions so far:
> Its consistency is thick, and I find that the squeezy thing on the dropper isn’t that great. I am not getting a whole dropper-full of product.
> I am not meant to get a whole dropper-full of product! Little under half an inch/1.5 cms is enough, even for my roundy face.
> It tingled when I put it on for the first time {in the long time between the first first time and this, the second first time.}
> It didn’t tingle so much when I used it again.

The prescription is to use this morning and night, but I think night will be enough for me. Or not! as the case may be.

Right, so: officially paying attention to this now. Back to you in a week! {Promise!}

*I’ve just created a new category for the whole saga, so do click on it and read all about my intensely emotional reaction to the jabs.

This Just In: Womanity Eau Pour Elles by Theirry Mugler

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Feelings: mixed.

This is where I out myself as a ho for packaging. Oh, holy night, I love a good package. In every way, yes, but when it comes to beauty products or those tin boxes that they make so attractive in the South of France, or an infused olive oil in a gorgeous bottle… you got me. Here’s my hard-earned cash.

I received Womanity Eau Pour Elles by Theirry Mugler today, and it was a feast of packaging, a delirium of unwrapping:

Since I am an rabid recycler, I did feel a bit of a twinge — did there really have to be so many layers? Especially the outside sleeve, which seems to have been devised merely to carry the QR code.

I scanned it, which isn’t something I do as a rule, and entered a competition to win a dream day with friends. I like this idea! You know, hanging out and being all in your womanity with your pals? The day I entered for is all about spa treatments — quelle surprise — and a nice meal.

Hey! I got distracted from the excess cardboard! Very clever, designer and marketing people!

So, okay, too much branding, clearly: they are trying to get the imagery with the funky gals and a more discreet, elegant vibe going on at the same time.

And then you see the inside, and the designer in me goes squeeeeeee because someone figured that out, and I am impressed. All those folds! The type everywhere! Love.

And then a teensy bit of an 80s bondage-y vibe with that cap, uh, whatever that means. LOL.

After all of that, I am not sure that the scent is my gig. After all of that! It describes itself as a ‘fruity, savoury, sweet Eau de Toilette’, but all my nose is picking up is the fruit, and … oh, I don’t know. I don’t think it suits me.

You also receive a ‘unique code’ with which to register on the Mugler site, but I find that I am not as excited by an excess of Flash as I am by an embarrassment of cardboard. The registering, it takes forever, and what am I really going to get out of it besides more rando emails? Yeah, I bailed after I selected where I lived and typed in my code. But: the Holy See is listed as a place to live. Can you imaaaaagine, like, the college of cardinals all signing up for their Theirry Mugler updates???

So: a bit heavy on the branding and the fruit. You can make up your own mind as of June 1, when this goes on counter.

Womanity Eau Pour Elles by Thierry Mugler is €50/50mls.

Fashion Police!

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I like bright things, and beautyfull ones, and I will admit that when I lived in NYC, I loved nothing more than a knock off handbag. Oh, Canal Street!

But then, okay, when I sold my novels, I thought, I think I will buy myself a Chanel handbag! I went to Brown Thomas on a recce, and decided to go for the classic Coco version, and it wasn’t cheap. And I didn’t even get that big an advance either!

On the way home I started thinking about how maybe people wouldn’t realise that the bag was the Genuine Article? They would think I simply got it on my latest jaunt to Chinatown, or Cabra, even. And then I figured, eh, I’m never going to actually carry the thing, because the lambskin finish is so easily scratched, and then I thought Lambskin?!?! No way! Why not just sell it to me stuffed with veal, and then I put the money in the bank. {Which was good because it got me through the recession-y parts of 2009-10.}

I remembered all this reading about the above bust of the counterfeiting factory in D7. And I very, very much like the idea of the Intellectual Property Crime Unit. Awwwwesome. <This makes me come over all American, because surely — surely — this is in an initiative that has USA stamped all over it.

Any chance of getting a job there, I wonder. I feel like everyone there is, like, rilly smart? You know? Like? Although I suppose my forte would be counterfeit … foundation? I suppose fragrances get knocked off with regularity. Hmm, maybe not much of a future for me there, after all. Does anyone know anyone who works there? Sounds like it would make a good feature!

The Newest Addition to the Hair Care Family: L’Oréal Paris Hair Expertise

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I’m not going to take another picture of my bath, because A) it is manky, and I can’t be bothered wiping it down for the internet, and B) I think there may be even more product in there? Let’s just say I could wash the hair of South County Dublin with the shampoo and conditioner I’ve got in there, and also give at least half the people intensive hair masks.

L’Oréal Paris Hair Expertise combines many of my favourite things, not the least of which is Paris and Hair. Their new Ever line offers three different programmes for the different situations in which we may put our hair: EverPure for those who colour-treat; EverSleek for those whose frizz is an issue; and EverStrong for hair that is brittle and fragile.

At the L’Oréal Studio, I was prescribed the EverPure Line:

Clockwise from left: Lasting Moisture Leave-in Créme; Moisture Shampoo; Moisture Conditioner; UV Filter Protective Mist; Reinforcing Intense Mask.

So the gig here is that this is a line you can buy in a chemists or a Tesco, and it fills the gap, price-wise, between the bargain stuff that can sometimes be perfectly fine, if not totally great {L’Oréal’s own Elvive springs to mind} and the salon stuff that costs a bomb but gives you gorgeous, shiny hair. The prices range from €8.49 for the S&C up to €10.49 for the Mist, so you’re not talking ‘break the bank’ here.

Plus, the shampoo and conditioner is highly concentrated, and despite being sulphate-free {sulphates are chemical compounds and they make all that lather}, you need very little to get a good going over.

I enjoyed a shampoo and deep condition, and the scent of the stuff really sent me. All the lines make great use of botanical oils, and mine features rosemary, juniper and mint.

I got a lovely blow dry as well, so will be reporting back when I do this myself. The shine was impressive, I must say, and The Hair felt as soft as it does when I use the really pricey S&Cs I’ve got to hand. Since I’m trying to get another day out of the styling, I’ll be availing of the Mist, which isn’t something that I would normally bother with, and see if it spruces up the ‘do.

There’s a serum that hasn’t been launched yet, and the only thing I would say is, whither the styling cream?

The Spirit is Willing…

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The flesh! It is not so weak! It is more than willing to leave off the paleness and start to glow. So what’s the prob?

Maybe the flesh is weak. I have enough self-tan to keep me occupied for a couple of weeks, and I keep ‘forgetting’ to slap some on, post-shower.

I have spent some time looking at these videos, produced by Garnier; I am sure that this is some form of denial. There’s one about how to spray tan yourself correctly, which surprised me: apparently, you are not supposed to approach it as though you were tagging the wall outside a Centra. Who knew! I will give this go — someday — even though I dislike getting tan all over the bath. Or maybe it won’t go all over the bath now that I know how to apply it correctly.

Meanwhile, here’s a link to an excellent dance mix, a generously free download by DJ Nick Bike if you are as into that sort of thing as I am. Maybe I will dance myself into the bath and … nah.

Write & Beautyfull!

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I have to say, I highly recommend this blogging lark. I love writing about beautyfull things, and I’ve found that a post or two a day keeps the writer’s block away. I’ve been working steadily on B&B!, revising two novels {one really, really old one, like, nine years old, so don’t get in a swivet} and what I like to call my ‘horsey-divorcey’ memoire.

This is not a humble-brag: all these projects have taken years to get down on paper, but it’s worth it in the end, because I get a buzz out of doing what I tell myself I’ll do.

So I’m taking a moment out of beauty-time to inform dear readers in Ireland that I and two colleagues are giving a one-day intensive writing workshop in Dun Laoghaire.

Pages I have covered with words

If you have been telling yourself for years that you want to write, then this workshop is a great kickstart. We’ll be writing throughout the day — okay, for almost the entire day. Scared? Don’t be: there will be tea breaks. And you can take lunch, too.

We’ll teach you exercises that wake up the writer within and get him or her to get the words out and down and flowing. We also represent the expertise of a number of different writing disciplines, so if you want to know about playwrighting, screenwriting, novel-writing, blogging, criticism, or journalism, we can answer your questions.

The full brief is below; message me in the comments to book, and for location details.

The Write Way
One-Day Intensive Creative Writing Workshop
Susan Conley, with Ciara O Dowd and JJ Harrington

Always wanted to write but don’t know how to start?
Have you started but stalled?
Do you write in fits and starts but find it hard to finish anything?

Writing is a craft, and as with any craft, there are tools at your disposal.

It is possible to learn how to break through writing blocks and to create good work habits.

In The Write Way, you will:
>Learn how to override your censor — the voice in your head that says ‘this idea is terrible, no one would speak like that, who do you think you are, this is a waste of time’ — and get your ideas flowing.
>Experiment with a variety of forms: Fancy yourself a screenwriter, playwright, novelist, blogger? Now you can discover what mode suits you best.
>Become familiar with tools that will serve you as a creative writer, for years to come.

Most of all, you will write!

Playwright Ciara O’Dowd, screenwriter JJ Harrington and novelist Susan Conley, through a series of guided writing exercises, will help you learn how to use tools and techniques that inspire and excite.

If you have an idea you’d like to develop, you will do so.
If you don’t have an idea, you’ll get one — if not more than one!
If you just want to learn how to express yourself more fluidly, you will.

Sunday, 27 May
10am — 5.30pm
€125
Bring an A4 writing pad or notebook, and a ‘fast writing’ pen — a liquid ink, roller ball, like a Pilot pen.

Sensation: Dermalogica Overnight Repair Serum

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I think that there was this crazy diet going around that had something to do with losing weight in your sleep? Am I making that up? Because wouldn’t it be so fantastic to do pesky, annoying stuff in dreamland?

It seems silly… but I do think that subliminal listening programmes might have some value, the ones where they lull you to sleep, and have all these tracks that you can’t hear, but are rewiring your brain. I’ve never tried any, because I’m afraid I’ll get all tangled up in the headphones and choke myself. This would not be a good visualistion to fulfill. But I do think that overriding the conscious mind has value and what better time to try than when you are not conscious?

I guess my issue is that it would be great if things happened over night, but you do have to apply yourself in some way, regardless. Those ‘quit smoking’ tapes are not going to play themselves! And it’s all well and good to take a product like Dermalogica’s Overnight Repair Serum and look forward to enjoying the fruits of its nocturnal labours, but you do actually have to apply it.

Yes, I’m talking to you, Self.

I don’t know where to keep this bottle so that I don’t forget to put it on before I go snoozing. I’ve got it on my bedside table, which seems to make sense, so after I’ve brushed my teeth and put on some night cream — oh. Dammit. Forgot!

The thing is, I can mix this oil with that night cream. But sometimes I wander out of the loo and use the stuff I’ve got on the lower shelf of the bedside table…  is there a subliminal tape I can get so I remember that I’ve got this serum?

Because: it is awesome. Part of Dermalogica’s AGE Smart range, it is targeted to maturing skin, and I have to say, when I wake after I’ve remembered to use it, my skin feels great. It looks so glowy, and feels so moisturised, that I, the least likely to be nominated as Best Morning Person in any year — I feel pretty good about getting up and about.

The secret of its efficacy is all about oils: Argan and rose make up the base; added to this are essential oils and plant extracts — and seaweed! All combine to make this an aromatherapeutic experience, too.

You only need 3 to 5 drops to saturate your face in anti-aging goodness. Good thing, because the only issue I have with this is that it is a bit challenging to shake the stuff out of the bottle. Once out, it smells and feels like a fancy treatment you get in a spa, and the soothing scents are a lovely escort into the land of Nod, where everyone quits smoking and doesn’t gain a stone as a result. Magic!

PLUS: Dermalogica have joined with FITE {Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship}, so every time you buy a product branded with the FITE logo, Dermalogica will make a donation to an indigenous female entrepreneur. These micro-loans help women all over the world, and you get to choose where, and what kind of business you’d like to support. Go here for more info.

€64.85/£56/$60