Bye 2012 Hello 2013

2012 has been a great year for me both personally and in terms of the blog. To be honest most of the year is somewhat of a blur for me and  I can't believe we are entering 2013. Tell me that I'm not alone in this. 

In my personal life, things were pretty good this year with Jack thriving as a little man. It's gas to see him go from quiet baby to full out mischievous toddler. Its amazing the difference a few months make when they are that small. We stayed put in our current house and it really feels like home. We are saving for a house so hopefully 2013 will be the year we have somewhere we can call our home.

 

 2012 was a big year for me as I lost most of the baby weight, I still have a little bit to go so I am hoping by the 2013 is in full swing I will regain some motivation and reach  my target weight.

 The blog has gone from strength to strength this year, took a little knock when I had to make the move to Blogger. But it turns out Blogger is the best thing I could have ever done. I have met some amazing people this year through the blog and made some great friends. 

I have lots of plans for the blog in 2013 and hope to be able to continue blogging regularly. I really want to thank all of you for taking the time out to read anything I post. It means the world to me when you comment about what I've written. 

xxx Hope everyone has a great night tonight and a great 2013 xxx

Happy Christmas Everyone

Hi Everyone, just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and hope you get lots of lovelies under the tree.

I'm going to working quite a bit over Christmas and spending some quality time with the two  men so this will be my last post for a few days. Blogging will resume on the 27th but I will be on Facebook and Twitter for chats xxx

WIN!!! Maalox Plus Survival KIt

Christmas is definitely a time when heartburn and indigestion are extremely common. Maalox Plus did a survey and found that 90% will overindulge in festive fare; the traditional calorie-cramming Christmas lunch of fat-loaded food; not to mention the booze, the mince pies, the nibbles or the endless boxes of biscuits and sweets. With the average person consuming a whopping 6,000  calories on Christmas day alone, it’s hardly surprising the assault that it can take on their digestive systems as 44 per cent say they expect to suffer the discomfort and misery of heartburn & indigestion this Christmas.

To help with the effects of Christmas, Maalox Plus have given me two Survival Kits to giveaway.

Each Kit Includes:

Toothbrush & toothpaste
Mints
Coffee
Glucose sweet
Tissues
Eye mask
Fresh wipe

How To Enter ( 1 entry for each of these)

• Follow the blog by either email or bloglovin 
• Follow Me on Facebook
• Follow me on Twitter 
• Post/Tweet the following "Ive entered to win a Christmas Survival Kit from @Anita Beauty Blog, you should too 
  http://anitasbeautyspot.blogspot.com/2012/12/win-maalox-plus-survival-kit.html (if you are tweeting use @anitabeautyblog)
•  Leave me a comment with your favourite Christmas food and how you have entered

xxx Competition will close on the 27th January, along with my Impress Nails Competition xxx

Christmas Gifts For Men

I always find it really hard to decide what to get the men in my life. Hubby is relatively easy but the brother and the father are the tricky ones. There is a huge selection for men this Christmas,here are just some suggestions.

Liz Earle Sensitive Shave Cream €13

Total Shaving Solution €20 for two 25ml bottles that last up to 12 months

Bulldog Natural Skincare Grooming Kit €19.99 You can get your paws on Bulldog Natural Skincare in McCabes Pharmacies, www.beautyfeatures.ie and selected pharmacies nationwide.

 

Armani Code Sport 50ml Set € 55.91

YSL L'Homme Libre Set €59.00

Kiehls Ultimate Man Box: €85.00

*Sure I can't forget the little man,who is my world. This year,we are having awful trouble trying to decide what to get him but that's a whole other story*

Xxx Tell me that I'm not alone in trying to pick out gifts for the men in my life xxx

Luxury Giftsets from 4 of My Fav Brands

Four of my favourite high end brands are Lancome, Armani, YSL and Kiehls. It's not often I buy something from them but when I do, I do a little happy dance. There is something about the packaging that makes me very happy. I couldn't let Christmas go by without sharing my picks from these brands.

Lancome

Lancome Hypnose Drama Set €25.91

Lancome La Vie Est Belle 30ml Set €47.00

 

 

Lancome Genifique 50ml Set €115.00

 
Armani

Armani Diamond 30ml Giftset €59.47

Armani Code Femme 50ml Giftset €67.60

 

YSL

YSL Mascara Set €66.00

YSL Forever Youth Liberator Set €77.00

Kiehls

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Kit:€47.00

Kiehls Crème de Crop: €94.00

xxx Anything from these lovelies speaking to you? xxx



ImPRESS Nails Competition

I'm a huge fan of anything that makes beauty life easy

ImPRESS Nails give you Salon perfect nails in minutes means you can accessorise to your heart’s content with lots of styles, colours and patterns to choose from.  With prices ranging from €7.99 this could be just what you need to turn your festive look from drab to fab! If they are good enough for Nicole Sherzinger then they are good enough for us! 

These lovelies are supper easy to apply.Simply peel-off and press-on for enviable shine and electrifying colour. These party perfect nails will complete and transform any ordinary outfit in time for the festive period and best of all they last up to a week.

So dress your nails to impress this season!

I'm a huge fan of these lovelies and have worn them quite a bit over the last year. Before heaqdin ginto 2013, the lovely people over at ImPRESS have given me four pairs to giveaway.

To enter all you have to do is like my Facebook page and like ImPRESS Nails  Facebook Page.

Leave the following comment on my Facebook page: "I've entered @Anita Beauty Blog competition to win some gorgeous @Impress Nail Ireland"

Also just leave a comment below saying you've liked both pages and with whether you have tried them and if you're also a fan of products that make beauty life easy.

As I'm going to be gone for a few days over Christmas, I'll pick a winner on the 27th December

Avoiding Counterfeit Cosmetics

Unfortunately, it's that time of year again where the availability of Counterfeit Cosmetics is even bigger due to Christmas stands on our high streets. Last year I posted on the old blog how to spot a fake and some other helpful information so wanted to re share it with you.

Over the last few years,there has been an increase in the availability of fake cosmetics in Ireland (MAC and Benefit to name a few). These cosmetics are purchased cheaply from Asia and lure people with the cheap prices. But you are getting more than you bargained for when getting that lust have product at an insanely low price.

You can never be sure what exactly has gone into these fakes, alot of the ingredients are extremely harmful and can give you a pretty nasty allergic reaction or worse. ( I recently read that some can cause burning to the skin)

So, how do you avoid and spot a fake?

• Common sense will take you a long way. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is!
• Never buy MAC,Bobbi Brown etc on any website (including Ebay) other than the official websites or department stores.
• Look for typos on the packaging. This is a dead giveaway as a professional brand will always have proper spelling on their packaging.
• Eyeshadow palette’s that have triangle eyeshadows are fake.
• Eyeshadow that is imprinted with MAC’s logo are fake.
• Real MAC lipsticks and lipglasses should have a distinct vanilla smell to them.
• Nars never writes their name on their products.
• Genuine Bobbi Brown palettes always have proper B.B. brushes with their logo! Fake palettes have these plain black, cheap sponge applicators.
• Authentic B.Brown palettes always have proper names on the box such as surf & sand, pink raspberry & mauve face. The fake palettes DON’T have these names just some madeup title such as 12 colours eyeshadow palette or Eyeshadows Palette 12colour shimmer 02!
• Real MAC eyeshadow shouldn’t have a fragrance.  Fakes might smell like cinnamon or another fragrance.

There are loads more tips if you would like to email me and I can share them with you.. The reason I don’t want to share all of them on here is that the manufacturers of these fake products spend hours on the web looking at blog posts to see how they can make their product look more authentic.

xxx Hope you find this helpful xxx

Love Irish: Nature7.ie

I'm a huge supporter in buying Irish so decided to introduce a new section on the blog called Love Irish. Here I will share with you all the latest Irish beauty, fashion or jewellery businesses I come across. to start off I would like to introduce you to Nature7.ie

Nature7 started out in 2000 with an aim to introduce the people of Ireland to natural and organic products.Back in 2000 there were very few of these products available and most that you could find were uncertified. 

On the website you can find a huge selection of beauty and healthcare products as well as household items. I was recently sent some products to try.

Green People Fruitful Nights Cream €17.75

 This lovely arived just in time as I had run out of my ni9ght cream a few days before hand. This is a rich cream that smells kind of like berries. It sinks into the skin quickly and leaves skin feeling soft.

Borlind Seide therapeutic Dandruff Shampoo €13.05

Luckily, I don't experience dandruff, but the hubby does. So I got him to road test this instead of using the old reliable Head & Shoulders. How'd he find it? Well being a typical man I struggled to get much out of him other than it seemed to get rid of his dandruff.

If you spot anything you like on Nature7, postage will cost you €3.50 or it will be free if you spend €28. Which you would easily do with the selection available. Orders should take 2-3 days to arrive. They also have a loyalty point system where you earn 1 point for every 3 cent you spend. Save these up and you could get a significant discount on a big purchase.

xxx Have you discovered Nature7 yet? xxx

Womens Stocking Fillers

I'm a big child when it comes to Christmas.While I'm excited to see what's under the tree,I'm even more excited to see what's in my Christmas stocking. If any of these were in my stocking I would

be a very happy camper.

Pixy Natural Mint Lip Balm €3.99

Beaded Owl Necklace £4 (approx €5) from Misbehaveboutique

iGlove £6.99 (approx €8.70) from Room31.co.uk

Paese Matte Makeup Base €8.95 from Cloud10Beauty This is a pic of my one in better days, only last week the lid broke on it :(

Blue Owl Scarf £8.50 (approx €10.50) from Funky Dory

Detox Body Scrub €19.95 from Bia Beauty

 
xxx What do you like to see in your Christmas Stocking xxx

Christmas Tag

A few weeks ago, the lovely Girl Friday tagged me in a post all to do Christmas.

Question 1:
What’s your favorite thing about Christmas?
Definitely getting the Christmas tree all set up. I'm a big child especially since the little man will be much more interested this year. 

Question 2:
What’s your favorite makeup look for the season?
I'll be having smokey eyes, with a flawless foundation and some shimmer.

Question 3:
Real tree or fake tree?
I love real trees but a real one would be a complete nightmare, so it will be a fake tree going up in our house/

Question 4:
Giving presents or receiving presents?
Definitely giving presents. I love seeing peoples faces when they open their gifts. 

Question 5:
Do you open your presents Christmas morning or evening?
Since the little man came along, we have taken to opening presents Christmas morning. It's hard to get used to since we've always swapped presents Christmas eve.

Question 6:
Handmade Christmas cards or bought?
I would love to give handmade cards but don't have alot of time so I bought mine. I've had them writtend for weeks.  

Question 7:
What’s your favorite Christmas movie?
Miracle on 34th Street, purely sentimental reasons as I would always watch it with my granny.

I’m going to tag: Dolly Rouge and Makeup Monster

and anyone else who wants to join in the festive fun!

Love Irish: Cocoa Brown Tan

I'm a bit of a false tan fiend.When I heard of a new Irish offering from the stunning Marissa Carter, I knew I had to give it a try. Named Cocoa Brown Tan, this lovely is a mousse tan that is very budget friendly and can be done the same day as the event you need a tan for.

Before I go into the full details on the lovely, can I just say how gorgeously girlie the product is. It's Pink and practical in a can container meaning if it gets dirty,you can simply stick it under the tap and rinse the makeup off.  Marissa wanted Cocoa Brown to be a dressing table product, one you would be proud to have on display. I definitely think she has pulled this off and mine will be taking pride of place on the dressing table after I do a second application tomorrow.

Gorgeous Girly Packaging

How Incredible Is the Volume In The Mousse?

Marissa has taken a lot of care in choosing her ingredients for Cocoa Brown and have kept us girls with dry or sensitive skin in mind. There are lots of exciting ingredients in Cocoa Brown but the ones I particularly am fond of are:

• DMI which grabs hold of the DHA in the tan and pulls it into the deeper layers of your skin, ensuring the tan doesn't oxidise and leave that yucky biscuit smell. DMI is also a tan accelerator, so your tan will develop in one hour for a light tan, if you like a medium tan, leave for 2 hours and if you like dark tan leave for three hours then rinse.
• A natural alternative to nasty parabens
• An innovative ingredient that can also be found in eye drops and orange juice that helps the tan glide on incredible smoothly.
• The alcohol content has been halved to 12.5% meaning that it wont aggravate dry or sensitive skin but it doesn't sacrifice on drying time.

 What about the smell I hear you say? The tan has a gorgeous floral Tahitian Gardenia scent and because of the DMI I didnt smell anything like biscuits. Unlike other tans Cocoa Brown isn't masked with a scent.

I applied the tan the next day and found it so easy and foolproof. I always dread applying tan but Cocoa Brown applied effortlessly. It took me 5 minutes to apply and as soon as one area was tanned, it had dried. So there was no walking around like John Wayne waiting for it to dry. There was also no tan stain on my clothes. The result? Liking a dark tan,I would have done three hours but by the time little man was in bed, I only had time for two hours. Two hours was the perfect amount of time for an incredibly natural golden glow.

Cocoa Brown Tan only launched a few weeks ago and is already in 320 pharmacies across the country. It retails at a very reasonable €7.99. There is also a very girlie pink tanning mitt available which I really like. I usually find my tanning mitts move all over the place when I'm applying tan but this lovely stayed put.

xxx Have you tried this lovely yet or will you be heading to their Facebook page to find your nearest stockist? xxx

Sneak Peek: Clarins Double Serum

On a cold Thursday evening, I headed off to see check out the latest skincare product from the skin care experts Clarins.  What was revealed to us was their new Double Serum. Double Serum has been around for 27 years and originally came in two separate bottles. Over the years it has gone through some changes with the latest in 2007.

All the way through the talk on Double Serum ,I was bursting to get my paws on it and give it a whirl. I wasn't left disappointed.

Double Serum is two treatments in one, one oil based and one water based and includes 20 active plant based ingredients. Double Serum targets 5 key areas that are essential for younger looking skin: hydration, nutrition, oxygenation, protection and regeneration. 

What I really like about Double Serum is that it can be used by any women no matter what their skin type, and off all ages from 25. Clarins recommend you use this in the morning and night for full efficacy and use 3 pumps. I find 2 pumps is enough for me, but try both and see how you go.

This will be available from the 4th of February and will have an RRP of €69.50, which is quite a price tag but if you are thinking of buying serum, you can;t go wrong with Double Serum as it is a true multitasker.

xxx I'll be road testing this lovely over the next month so keep your eyes peeled for a review. I'm expecting big things from this lovely but what I can tell you is in the few days I have used it, my skin feels tighter and my pores look smaller. xxx

Sneak Peek: Spring Summer 2013 With Lancome

During the week I headed off with Donna from Not Just Inside and Aundrea from Dancin With Disaster for a sneak peak of Lancomes offering for Spring/Summer 2013.

The collection is called In Love and features the stunning Emma Watson

In Love is a fresh, fun and colourful  fun collection which includes a vibrant blush, a gorgeous turquoise eyeliner, coral nail polishes and incredible pink lipsticks. 

Here are the pretties up close

The In Love collection is available at Lancome counters nationwide from 2nd January 2013.

xxx Once I have price details and some swatches, I will let you know but for know is anything from the collection you like the look of? xxx

Christmas Giveaway

Over the last few weeks,I've had some great competitions on the blog and thought I would do one last competition for 2012.

One lucky winner will win a gorgeous cosmetics bag filled with goodies including both high street and luxury goodies.

To be in with a chance to win,here's what you gotta do.

1. You must be a follower of the blog by email,blog lovin,hello cotton or networked blogs.(1 entry)
2. Follow Me on Facebook and Twitter. (1entry each)
3. Share " I've entered @Anita Beauty Blog Christmas competition to win an amazing goodie bag. Get Entering http://anitasbeautyspot.blogspot.ie/2012/12/christmas-giveaway.html " (1entry for sharing on Facebook,1 entry for sharing on Twitter)
4. You must leave a comment below saying how you follow and what you love about Christmas.(1 entry)


Competition will run from today 1st December to 20th December xxx

xxx This is an international giveaway and the winner will be picked at random xxx

Christmas With Lush

Lush always have a gorgeous selection of Christmas gifts and this year, they have pulled it out of the bag again with some amazing lovelies. Here are my personal favs that would have me jumping for joy Christmas morning.

Snow Fairy €16.50 includes Snow Fairy Shower Gel (100g),Shimmy Shimmy Massage Bar and Angels Delight Star Soap (70g)

Jolly Hollydays €32.95 includes Karma Soap, Each Peach Massage Bar, Ponche Shower Gel (100g), Sandy Santa Sugar Scrub and Mr Punch Soap (100g)

 

Festive Fiesta €44.95 includes Sandy Santa Sugar Scrub, Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly, Ponche Shower Gel (100g), Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub (130g), Northern Lights and Snow Globe Soaps, Whoosh Shower Jelly and Slammer Shower Gel (100g)

All I Want For Christmas €94.95 includes Party Popper Bath Ballistic, Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, Ceridywns Cauldron Luxury Bath Melt, Christmas Eve Bubble Bar, Golden Wonder Bath Ballistic, Father Christmas Bath Ballistic, Cinders Bath Ballistic, Sunnyside Bubble Bar, The Comforter Bubble Bar, Magic Wand Reusable bubble Bar Wand, Avobath Bath Ballistic, French Kiss Bubble Bar, Karma Bubble Bar, So White Ballistic, Amandapondo Bubble Bar, Big Blue Bath Ballistic, Rose Jam Bubbleroon, Twilight Bath Ballistic and Sex Bomb Ballistic.

xxx Have you seen anything from Lush this year you would like to find under the tree? xxx

Pixy Natural Bath Oil and A Very Cute Soap

Last week, a gorgeous package from one of my new beauty loves Pixy Natural arrived. In it was their sensual bath oil and the incredibly cute honey suckle soap. 

 Sensual Bath Oil (€9.95) comes in a gorgeous heart shaped bottle and is suitable for all skin types. Ingredients include Sweet Almond Oil and Vitamin E so it is ideal for giving your skin a treat on these cold days. There is also a hint of glitter in this bath oil. I've used this twice and my skin feels gorgeous. All you need to do is add two teaspoons of oil to warm running water and mix it into the water. Your bath may be slippery afterwards so take care.

Honeysuckle Soap (€5.49) is sucha  cute soap, as soon as I saw it, I immediately went Aaaaw! This soap is made with luxurious cocoa butter and macadamia oil and has a gorgeous floral scent.All skin types can benefit from this soap but it is especially good for dry or ageing skin. 

Pixy /natural have a great selection for Christmas Gifts and Stocking Fillers so be sure to pop over to them an say hello at www.pixy.ie

Mint Flamingo Jewellery

I love discovering new jewellery websites, so that I can spend hours looking through their pieces and deciding what to add to my growing jewellery collection. During last week, I discovered a Scottish jewellery website on twitter called Mint Flamingo. As it turned out they were looking for some bloggers to review some pieces and on Monday, two gorgeous pieces from their collection arrived in my post box. 

Charm Bracelets £3.50 each (approx €4.35)

Alice Rabbit Necklace: Pendants measure approx 2.3cm x 3cm and chain is approx 76cm. £.7.50 (approx €9.30)

I love both pieces and have worn them every day since their arrival. 

Mint Flamingo only opened in 2012 and is already a mecca for people who love vintage or quirky jewellery.(I definitely fall into that category) There is a huge selection on the site from bracelets to brooches and necklaces. I have already picked out a few more pieces that will get added to my collection.

If you are a fan of jewellery, definitely pop on over to their website and see if anything takes your fancy. They deliver to Ireland for £4.50c (approx €5.50) You can also find Mint Flamingo on Facebook and Twitter

Embracing My Inner Calm With Yantra Mat

My days are pretty manic looking after the little man and working.By the end of the day,my back is In bits and I would be very happy with a massage.Of course,I never get one. That all changed this week when the Yantra Mat arrived on my doorstep.

 

 

 

While not strictly a massage,the 8820 accupressure points can ease muscle tension, aches and pains. Sounded devine to me so I have given it a few tries, now I won't lie, this lovely is quite uncomforable at first so I reccomend putting a thin towel between yourself and the mat. You can see how it takes some getting used to when you see this staring back at you.

 

 

 

You can choose to lie on your back or front when using the matt. Lying on your back stimulating acupressure points along the spine to help soothe back problems while lying on your front can help to improve your metabolism and loosen tightness in the diaphragm and respiratory muscles.  Suffer from tightness in the neck and jaw? Use your yantra mat to help loosen that tightness by lying on your cheek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've only used it a few times but so far I can see a vast improvemtn in the discomfort on my lower back, I've yet to work up the courage to try lying on my stomach with it.

 

The Yantra Mat is half price at €29.90 (RRP €49.95), and is available from Lifes2good on 1890 35 10 10 and online at www.yantra.ie.

 

xxx Would you be willing to try this to help with back pain? xxx