My hair is a MOP … in a good way!

It’s been awhile, since I last posted! Sorry this has been a mixture of job change, play and general crap like cleaning getting in the way :)

Anyway back to task in hand.. haircare! As a hairdressers daughter my friends think I have my mum on tap to cut, dye and style my hair. I wish this was the case!!! My mum is extremely busy with her paying regular clients; she never has time for little old me! I am bottom of the pile just in front of my brother and dad of course! This being said my mum is great for advice on the many products there is on the market! One good bonus means spending less on hair care as what I buy is usually what she recommends.

Rambling aside! My mum and I went shopping a few weeks ago; well imagine our delight when we walked into Debenhams to see ALOT of MOP hair products reduced to clear! The pictures above are from Glisten collection (Glisten Shampoo and Conditioner) which are ideal for volume and shine for chemically treated hair.  The first thing I love about these products is there zesty scent, it isn't over powering subtle but very yummy and refreshing! (scientific descriptions :p ) 











As well as smelling great this shampoo and conditioner wash my hair well without stripping any of the goodness out of it, having chemically treated hair these products definitely help to keep it hydrated AND volumised. I personally have a problem with a lot of shampoos and conditioners that hydrate your hair as I find they tend to weigh my hair down and I struggle to get any volume into it. These products help to be a great base for volumised hair... I may actually do another post on other products i used to keep my hair full. Anyways.... i have been straighten my hair since the days of babyliss rather GHD and once having very thick Lion like mane, I now have fairly straight hair which has been caused through years of straightening .. thats fine I am ok with that, as I wear my hair straight anyway. However this excessive GHD use has made my hair a lot flatter therefore these haircare products are a god send for me volumised, hydrated and smelling fresh!

Even more so when their reduced to £3.75 each! They usually retail for £13.45 and can be purchased here

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine -Spring Colours

A few weeks ago I was in Boots on one of those shopping trips that goes from 'needing' one nail varnish and coming out with a bag full of products. Now I have always been a fan of Barry M nail varnishes mostly for their wide ranges of colours. However, usually I would buy Nails Inc. mostly because I am a creature of habit and a number of years ago Nails Inc was THE best nail varnishes you could get in Belfast Boot store. OK going off the point here sorry!

So back to Barry M I went into boots originally for a clear base coat which I badly needed! I cannot abide yellow nails due to no base coat!



L-R Greenberry,Clear, Papaya and Grapefruit

After seeing an offer on Barry M nail varnishes I went a bit crazy seeing the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine collection, I had a little swatch in boots, I got over excited and bought my base coat along with Hi shine in Greenberry, Papaya and Grapefruit.

I was sooo pleased with these varnishes! Firstly I only needed two coats for them to look great! AND as I am typing I am wearing Greenberry which has been on for over a week! It’s only starting to chip now! I usually get 3 days max out of my nails. I really love the colour of these polishes for spring/summer (if we ever get some nice weather!) The Hi shine look you get is also great… I have had a number of comments from friends asking did I get gel nails done…. SCORE! £3.99 gives me a gel nail look at a much cheaper cost and probably less harsh on my nails.

Grapefruit

On another note the base/top coat and nail hardener is also brilliant and very quick drying but much less exciting than the pretty colours and Hi shine of the Gelly collection! :)

Do you have any of these colours, what do you think? Or recommend other colours from Barry M?

I would love to know your thoughts

Danielle  xx

Monday Motivator #1 Marathon

So it's Monday again! Monday's for most people are the day of the week they dread... back to work, school or college, the official end of 'freedom' for another week. To be honest I never really liked Monday's either.... Until I met my best friend who reminded me this day kick starts your week, make it a positive start!

I started to embrace Monday's hitting the ground running in work, means you can slack come Friday afternoon... that’s my philosophy anyway!

That being said.... Bank Holiday Mondays are by far my favourite! However May Day Bank Holiday this year I did dread. The reason for this was I agreed (stupidly) a couple of months ago to take part in the Belfast Marathon Relay along with 4 of my work colleagues. I did so under the pretences that I would do the shortest leg, however one of my colleagues had bad knees and I gave her the least miles( because I’m kind like that :p) therefore my leg was just over 4 miles. Now at the time I didn’t realise this leg was the last leg or what I like to call the glory miles! This put even more pressure on me when I realised, all I could think about is my team watching me crawl across the finishing line, making an absolute show of myself!

Now as the months past it got closer and closer to D-Day and I had done zero training! A few weeks before I embarked on long walks with my BF up hills, down hills and around Stormont estate in Belfast. This was by no means training and more a leisurely stroll (mostly because my BF doesn’t know how to brisk walk at all!) As you can then imagine on D-Day morning I had dread to the pit of my stomach thinking, I am going to let my team and myself down after my lack of training or exercise of any sort!

10am and one of my team mate rings to tell me our first leg runner was nowhere to be seen, but he had completed his leg, 35 minutes earlier! she was frantically looking for him, to retrieve the armband which we needed to finish the race. We both agreed she should run on without the armband. Which she did! But 35 minutes behind...... I arrived at my position around 12.30pm, waiting on changeover before my leg. I felt physically sick with worry! Can I do this without making a show of myself?

As Bronagh (my colleague) started running towards me at 1.10pm I thought ‘this is it I need to do everyone proud, let’s do this Danielle.’ Me and my trusty IPhone started to jog along the roads of Belfast City Centre, I could feel the Mars bar I ate an hour before the race coming up! As I continued I got myself into a great rhythm and with Badman Riddim playing in my ears I realised I was halfway there and passed my teammates cheering me on, along with lots of other spectators the pressure was on but I was feeling positive!

As I got around half mile from the finish line I had DJ Kathryn Wilson remix playing in my ears I was pumped and ready for a sprint finish. As I turned the corner for finish line I could see 4:59:10 on the clock. I thought we need to get this done in under 5:00:00, being 5ft 8 with rather long limbs, I let my legs carry me full speed, flinging me across the finish line in 4:59:46! Yes!!! We did it and I didn’t make a show of myself. (although we should have finished 4:24:46)

Me running over the finish!

Probably the most positive Monday to date! I encourage everyone to push themselves and each Monday instead of crying in a corner embrace the new week!... maybe not with a sprint finish (I couldn’t do that each Monday) but small steady steps take you far!

What motivating steps do you take on a Monday? Or are you just a hater of Mondays,if so why? 

Love to hear your thoughts 

Danielle x

-I got inspiration for this post from Sprinkle of Glitter

my first post!

Hi !

Its the end of a long week and the beginning of the weekend and my blog :)

I decided to start this blog mostly as a way to release some of my creative energy and to share my thoughts... on style... beauty, fashion and lifestyle.

I suppose this blog really is an upgrade from doodling and writing diaries! Somewhere to document all my addiction to beauty and fashion along with a bit of me blathering as we would say in Belfast.

Peace out for now dolls!
Danielle xxx