Leopard Print Nail Art

THIS WAS SCHEDULED TO GO UP LAST FRIDAY!! JUST REALISED IT DIDN'T! SORRY!

But better late than never eh!

Hey Guys, 

This is my 100th post already, can't believe that! (well 101 now)

In my last post you saw this lovely Sally Hansen Fairy Teal, I decided to make this post a two parter because I took A LOT of photos! I thought that leopard print would be a nice touch to this colour and I was right :) I used my nail art pens from Penneys (2 for €2.50) Bargain.

This was so easy to do and took less than 20 mins to have both hand done. I waited before I added my NYC Grand Central Station as a top coat.

I apologise for the quality of the photos. I used my phone and between the flash and bad lighting the photos are quite dark, but you get the idea

LEFT HAND 

RIGHT HAND 

You can see from the background (my bedroom wallpaper) that I'm a big leopard print fan. Not to the Bet Lynch stage, but I do own a whole lotta leopard print bits and pieces so me adding leopard print on my nails is definately a natural progression.. hee hee

I like this look, are you a fan?

WEEK 16 WEIGH IN 2013

Happy Monday,

I bring good news.. I was down 3lbs this week... wooo hooo
I had a good week, so I was hoping for good news J
I think that 3 spinning classes in the week is really helping me at the moment, I also managed to squeeze in 4 walks. So my exercise was good and I had 6 great days with food too.

I do find that come Thursday and Friday, I’m almost tempted to give in and have some sugar or “something nice” but this is something that I’m becoming more aware of and I think its my own brain trying to make me fail. So I’ve been staying strong when these thoughts hit me! It’s a constant battle with myself. I know it sounds silly and its mad for me to try and explain how this works for me. But any kind of emotion = food for me. Happy = food, sad = food, tired = food, cranky = food, tired from exercise = food, bored = food. Or any reason at all. If my friend says she’s sad, I’m thinking “what kinda cake/choc could I buy to cheer her up” madness I know, but I’ve operated like this for years.. so the re-wiring process in my brain is gonna take a while to catch on as the new automatic response.. So I have to be extra vigilant with myself. Yip I’m self policing my thoughts aswell as my actions.
Its not even that I’m thinking that I’ll have whatever it may be as a treat because I’ve been so good the last few days. Its just purely because A.) its there B.) I want it, just cuz C.) Sure why not
These aren’t even real excuses, but at the time my urges take over and I want to give in, and I can tell you know, its never worth it. I’ve caved many times and its never worth it.

Source: Google Images

My other good news for this post is I've finally beaten my own personal mental block.  That's right, I am now the lightest  I have ever been in my adult life.. its taken me a while but I've beaten my own demons and now the only way is down form here. I was thrilled to receive this piece of news on Saturday morning as I’ve been so so close to this moment since mid March and I kept bouncing back and fourth from it. But I’ve done it now, I’ve finally broken through my mental block wall J
I’m sure I’ll face many more challenges and blocks and plateau’s as I continue on my weight loss challenge, but this is my first BIG BREAKTHROUGH and I feel like I want to shout it from the rooftops.. I didn’t give up on myself, yes it took me a while to get my head around it and get on the right track. BUT I DID IT, Nobody else but me.

Its almost a relief to prove to myself that I could do this. So this is the 4^th time in 12 months that I’ve lost the same stone. But this week my total weight loss tally for this year is 15lbs, which means I’ve lost 1 stone and 1 lbs and that little 1lb means that I’m now into my second stone… so there’s no going back. The only way is forward.

I know I’m gushing, but this feels like it’s a very big deal for me J so as my treat I bought myself some new gym clothes in the Nike Outlet shop. 2 pants (1 x long & 1 x short) and a pink vest to break my black cycle for the summer.


15lbs lost, 45lbs to go.... 

Sally Hansen - 450 Fairy Teal

 

I found this little beaut in Dealz for the bargain price of €1.49. I do love a good bargain :) I have had it for a while now and kept saying "I must try that soon" And I've finally gotten around to it :)

This was worth the wait I think. I've never had any probelms with Sally Hansen  and this complete salon manicure is great, the brush is nice and long, making the application easy peasey. In these photo's I'm wearing two coats with a top coat over (NYC 202 Grand Central Station,)
The dry time was pretty quick also.

This colour is lovely, it tends to change colour depending on the light... It was green on application, but at dinner that night my bf commented on my Blue nail polish!! lol.  So I tried to take some photos to catch the "blue" but it still looks green to me! What do you think? Maybe I should take him to specsavers!!

I was happy with this colour and for the price of it, twas well worth it :) I've been stalking my local Dealz shop since but they haven't gotten any back in!!
Are you a fan of Sally Hansen? I'm not usually a green fan, but I really like this, I've got a few idea on how to jazz it up coming soon also.....

Week 15 Weigh-in 2013‏

Hello hello,
Its that time of the week again  and I've good news to report thankfully :) I was down 2lbs on the scales, down 4lbs in Fat and up 2lbs in muscle... So I'm happy with that result.


I  think the effects of Rip60 last week showed on this weeks scale reading. But I did work extra hard all week ,I made sure that my portions sizes were correct. I stuck to my food plan 98%
And that’s only because I went to give blood and you have to have sugars before you can leave so I had a cup of club orange and a bag of Taytos on Tuesday evening!


During the week I went to Spinning, Spin & Abs and I faced another Rip60 class. I also managed 2 x lunch time walks, so combine moving my ass everyday with eating 98% good and you get a good result on the scales.


The scales did dither between two numbers when I stepped on and it stuck on the higher one, so I’ve taking that to mean that I’m already 1lb down before this week has even started J which can only be a good thing really J

This week I have booked in for 3 x Spinning classes and I’m thinking about trying a Kettle bell class also (little afraid for my back with regards kettle bells, but I won’t know until I try)
I’m back on track and fighting my urges and I’m not feeling deprived, the weather is also starting to improve and with that comes the prospect of brighter and tighter clothes for the summer.

So that thought is spurring me along and keeping me away from the biscuit tin. Work had my favourite biscuits in the kitchen last week and I did not eat one! I may have had a sniff or two, but I did not eat one and they still disappeared just a quickly from the kitchen without my help. And I was happy once they were gone. Cuz the temptation had left the building and I had not given in J


For me it’s the little things that I applaud myself for. I’m delighted that I didn’t break for a biscuit last week! Had that been the week previous, I would have had 3!! I feel like I’m back on the right track and getting a good result on the scales proves that I can do this. I just need to keep putting one good day in front of another and the days will turn to weeks and the pounds will hopefully melt away.


I hope your weight loss journey is going well..

NEON NAILS

Anyone that follows me on twitter will have seen these nails last Thursday night when I posted a photo.
But I decided to take a few more photos and make a post of it :)

I had bought 3 of the Models Own Neon Polish's in Boots (3 for 2) and I couldn't decide which one to try first! First world problems I know, but hey, I'm a first world girl ;)  I was watching Xpose that evening on Tv3 and they were showing off the new Sally Hansen collection (its really cute) and the manicurist done a side manicure of sorts and so I decided that I would try similar to showcase all of my new colours at the same time, genius of me eh....

So here you go.. I'll let the photo's do the talking, just look at the pretty colours.

LEFT HAND 

                         RIGHT HAND 

As you can see the thumb on my right hand went horribly wrong and so I attempted to cover it up in the photos! I just couldn't get the diagonal correct and it just got messy!

With regards the rest, the lines could have been sharper, but that's my critical opinion. I liked this tho, the colours were lovely and bright and very eye catching.

Base Coat NYC 202 Grand Central Station
Nails Inc -Elizabeth Street
Blue - Catrice - 400 Blue Cara Ciao
Pink - Models Own - Bubblegum
Purple - Models Own - Purple Pukka
Orange - Models Own - Punch Pink
Yellow - Catrice - 700 Birdy Reloaded
Top Coat NYC 202 Grand Central Station

NOTD - BARRY M Gelly Hi Shine- GRAPEFRUIT

I've been meaning to try this colour for a while, its so bright and lovely in the bottle. I think it'll be a lovely summer colour.

On application, the brush is good but the polish itself I found to be a little gloopy, so ensure that you wipe the excess off the brush before you paint your nails with it! I learned this through trial and error. Some of my nails looked like they had more than 2 coats of this on the nail!

40 minutes I sat and waited for this to dry, after 30 minutes it still wasn't dry so I decided to add a top coat, even tho this doesn't particularly need one. But I had things to do and so this was a quick fix.

So I applied NYC 202 Grand Central Station as a top coat.

Something told me that these were going to smudge on me! you know when you just get that feeling???

So I took the photo's before I put on my shoes and socks to go out, and thank god I did!  See the lovely photos above :) awww

Because when I checked on my nails again they were smudged, check out these pics :(

I was in a hurry at this stage and decided that I would do a patch job when I got home! 

HOWEVER, when I sat into my car and looked at my nails again, they were in an awful state! 

I was so mad I took some pics as proof! grrrr

Needless to saw I was not a happy camper after this happened! I was annoyed with the dry time, the thick application and then it went and smudged in less than an hour!! 

I came home and removed it all, I just didn't have it in me to go through this whole ordeal again!! 

I may try it again in time when I have 4 hours spare to sit and wait for it to dry! I'm not sure if I was just unlucky with this colour or not!! 

Have you tried any of these Barry M polish's? I'd luv to hear how you got on? 

Week 14 Weigh-in 2013‏

Hey Guys,
I'm back with another weekly update. My week didn't quite go as I had hoped/planned....

First off, my food could have been better last week, I always say I could be better, I know; but I found that last week I was picking in a way I thought I’d put behind me!
I guess it shows if you take your eye off the ball even a little, you start to slip! Least I do anyways!  

I better explain myself a little better, so that you can see what my “excuse” was for picking once again!! Doncha know I’ve always got an excuse!

I was running late on Tuesday evening for my Zumba class, so I rang to see if I could get a space in another class later on that evening. They switched me to a class called Rip60. I’d heard of it, but that was about it, I thought it’ll be good to try something new, like I’d said last week! So I turned up thinking it couldn't be any worse than my first few Spinning classes!! I was wrong, so wrong!

Here’s the description of Rip:60 Suspension Training:
RIP60 is the next step forward in Suspension Training. It is the ultimate full body and core workout. Using your own body weight there... are dozens of different exercises, that will literally work your entire body. The major advantage of RIP60 is the added rotational movements it allows, which enhance your power and power is the key to RIP60.

It was a good class, but sooooo tough, I can’t even do a full body push up! And I thought I was fit from Spinning , this class was a total shock to my body! I tried to keep up with the class and was very enthusiastic at the beginning with my squats and lunges leaning back and using my own body weight to pull me back up. We worked our body in three sections, legs, arms and then chest & back.

While we were doing some of the exercises that involves the ropes rotating as you pull them, I felt dizzy and like I was going to vomit, I’m told that this proved I was working hard!! It was a good 50 minute work out and the time did fly by, kinda! By the time I was leaving my whole body was vibrating and my legs felt like jelly! I was thrilled that I’d survived the hour to be honest, but knew I’d be feeling the affects soon.

The following morning however, I couldn’t move. I’m not being dramatic  (well not really) Everything hurt and ached and I was walking like a 90 year old in need of a zimmer frame. I had to think about every move before I made it. My work colleagues were highly amused by me! I was like this for 3 DAYS, nothing helped or eased the pain! I had to cancel 2 spinning classes because I couldn't physically do it! I tried to go for a walk to ease the muscles but found that I couldn't walk fast or far! My thighs & knees felt like they wouldn't support my body, I had a constant toppling over feeling when I had to walk more than 20 steps at a time!!! I really could done with a walking stick.. Yip I was a total pity and to think that exercise did this to me!! My family and friends got a great kick out of me, so at least I had the comedic factor on my side!!

By day 3 I could walk almost normally but I was achey. By day 4 I was more or less back to normal, but Day 4 was my weigh day.. So I only managed to get 1 class into the whole week due to being in crazy achey pain from one class!! My body took soooo long to recover, it was embarrassing!

So I hit the scales on Saturday morning and I was up 2lbs on the scales and up 3lbs in muscle.

So the class, did work! I however whilst in pain Weds – Fri felt like it was ok to have one biscuit and a mini kitkat.(Poor me like)  I ended up having “something small” every day last week.

As you know all those “something smalls” add up and 5 something smalls is HUGE and makes a difference on the scales!!

But you know what, it was the kick up the arse I’ve needed. I need to stop falling back into my old habits, and continue trying to be the best I can be and at the moment that will be one day at a time.

I feel more positive this week. I’m also determined to go back and do another Rip60 class this week, last week it kicked my ass (and the rest) so this week I’m going to go and try it again, it can only get easier at this stage, no way will it take me 4 days to recover again (I hope) But just incase, I’ve booked 2 x spinning class before I revisit Rip60, apart from the pain aspect afterwards, it was a really good and challenging class, and I would recommend it already.

My Targets for next week to see a better result:

·         3 x Classes + lunch time walks (weather permitting)

·         No Picking

·         No feeling sorry for myself

·         Be down 3lbs at next weigh in

I hope your planning ahead to have a good week too xx

Operation Skinnie Minnie update #4‏

Hey, If you haven’t read my other progress reports, than what are you waiting for? Get clicking….

Operation Skinnie Minnie update #1 
Operation Skinnie Minnie update #2
Operation Skinnie Minnie update #3

           

Operation Skinnie Minnie update #4‏

2                 

Its time to report back with another update of how my month has been and its not been the best of month I must admit!!!

Especially with the two bank holiday weekends thrown in, I had lotsa binges, fell off the wagon, got back on and fell straight back on, right now I’m hanging onto the back of the wagon, my feet aren’t firmly on it, but I’m 90% back to where I should be. I’ve been up and down the same 3lbs for most of this month, so I’ve yet to hit the 14lb mark!! Not good for being 3 months in really!! I’m not meeting any of my own targets and I’m pretty disappointed to be honest.

Now to be fair I can see a difference in myself in some of my clothes, I’m gutted that I didn’t start taking my measurements back in January, but its never too late as this journey is on going, so I’ve taken my measurements today. That way I can report back next month on my scales loss and my inch loss. I’m being advised from all sides that the inch loss is showing more than the scales results.

I’m putting this down to doing so many spin & abs classes, its good that I’m toning and losing and I will benefit from this in the long run as I don’t fancy having excess skin on my person (I don’t imagine anyone sets out to get this on purpose)

So I’m still in the same spot as last month at the moment. I’m 2lbs away from being the lightest I've been in my adult life and 4lbs away from being down 14lb.

Both of these goals seem so small and very achievable, but as you know I've somehow manages to hit the self sabotage button on my brain and this 4lbs at the moment feels like 4 stone to me!!

So I’m planning on baby steps for the minute to get past this particular obstacle. I know that once I pass these numbers and reach these targets, its all new and (hopefully exciting) territory for me.

I’m hoping that once I hit these numbers and get under them that this will be a new motivation for me and spur me on to loose the next 14lbs in less time.

This 14lb loss will be the same stone that I lost 3 TIMES last year and gained it back, so its 4^th time lucky for me this time.. and I mean business this time.

Also at the moment I’m refusing to buy myself any new clothes (even though I really need some spring/summer work wear) until I’m buying them in a size smaller.

Oh I almost forgot, in the last few months my feet have shrunk!! I’m pretty gutted by this! I never realised that this could happen! I thought that your feet stayed the same all of your grown up life and like handbags were friends for life L So I’m afraid to try on half of my collection for fear that they no longer will fit me L Everything else I’m quite happy to put in the “they don’t fit me” pile, but not my lovely and pretty shoes!! *sigh* It’s a bittersweet side affect I guess, and feck all I can do about it.

For the month of April my target is to be down at least 2lbs each week. If I can do this, then I should be able to get back on track and get cracking on stone number 2

If there’s anything in particular you’d like me to do a rant post about, do let me know and I’ll see what I can do, I've got a few half written posts on the go all the time; these posts seem to be the ones that people like to read and can relate too, so feel free to make suggestions J

I am also in the process of putting together a photo diary of me from the last 5 years together for your viewing. And I will be making myself a Facebook page when someone teaches me how.

How’s your weight loss journey going? I’d love to hear all about it.....

Half Mooon Mani using Zoya PixieDust - Chyna

Hey Guys,

As you know I was gushing a few weeks back when I showed you this lovely Zoya PixieDust - Chyna polish. I bought 2 of the polish's at the same time. I never managed to take photos of the other lil beauty that I bought. This is my third time wearing Zoya PixieDust - Chyna (red), but the first time that I've remember to take snaps before the tip wear kicks in. 

Zoya PixieDust - Chyna

I really like the look of the colour of this varnish in the bottle, its all glittery and shiney and fabulous. It reminds me of Dorothy's ruby red slippers in the Wizard of Oz.

The instructions say do not apply a base or top coat before using this polish, and it will take two to three coats. 

You really need to let each coat dry before applying another. I used two in these photos and for this colour it was enough.

The application is easy, the brush is good to use and the polish is nice and even to apply.

It doesn't feel like a textured polish to me (well the bf said it doesn't feel like sand like the others) and he was right, this polish is pretty in a glitter polish kinda way but not as eye catching as I would have liked on the nail and I love it in the bottle, I really wanted this to be my new favourite polish, I've given it a few chances. Its nice and I like it, but I don't love it!

HALF MOON MANI

For this application I decided that I would try out a half moon mani, First up I painted my nail with a regular red NYC 226 - Madison Avenue, I put top coat NYC 202 Grand Central Station over it for a quick dry. 

Once this was dry I used a ring enforcer on each ringer (tip, cut each one before u stick it, it makes it easier to pull off.) I put all 10 stickers on my fingers before I started to paint. 

I found it easier for me. I then painted on 2 coats of Zoya PixieDust - Chyna. 

When it was almost dry I pulled the stickers off and the lines were clean enough. 

Here's the result

I decided tho that the two reds together were too samey and it needed something else, I sent the pic to a friend and she agreed with me (thanks Dee :)) So I added a semi circle using my black nail art pen (Penney's finest) and I think it makes the glitter red "pop" 

This mani was cute under the lights and kinda eye catching, but I think if I were to do it again i would use a total contrasting colour under my pixie dust, but it was a nice finish and I got 3 full days before the tip wear started. (Possibly because you can't use top coat over the Pixie dust) 

If you want to get your hands of some of the fab colour from Zoya in Ireland, check out www.supernails.com