Irish Beauty Bloggers Secret Santa: The Reveal

What Better Way to get into the Christmas Spirit than to get involved in Secret Santa Awwww I love Secret Santa.  I used to alway get involved in school in work (when I was working).  I missed it after I left work and school that was until the wonderful Aisling from Total Makeup Addict came up with the Idea that The Irish Bloggers get together and play secret santa amonst ourselves.  Of course I jumped to the chance As I love all the mystery and secrets involved in it.  

Of course it is exciting from start to finish and I am even still excited about the reveal from everyone.  I cant wait to see who everyone got and what everyone got :) :) And of course cant wait to see what my receiver thought of her present.  

So we all agreed to spending €20 each not including postage on our receivers which was perfect and well affordable and to be honest put us to the test on what to get at that budget.  I was super excited when Aisling revealed who I was buying for as I absolutely love her blog and read it all the time :)  Dont worry I will post at the end who I sent my gift to and post a link to her so you can see what i got her.  

So the day came when the postman knocked on my door and handed me a parcel.  The poor postman nearly lost his fingers as I snatched the parcel off him (thankfully he is easy going and found it funny) 

I had all the time in the world to open my gift as my kiddies was gone to school.  My sister was beside me telling me to hurry and open as she is just as excited as I am lol 

Here is how my parcel was presented :) Now obviously I am not going to show you the front with my address lol but there was a lovely bow and all on the box 

Opeing it up I see beautiful colours and a card but I decided not to read the card until I opened up the box.  Inside was this beautiful toiletry bag with some fantastic colours which actually made me think "Africa".  Inside this beautiful bag was my lovely lovely gifts. 

 One thing I Noticed staight away was a Bandana.  In a way I was a little confused but also open minded as I always am.  Another thing I noticed was an unusual bar of chocolate one I have never seen before.  Next I noticed a small pack of worm sweets.  I love sweeties I have to admit.  Next was 4 little gifts all wrapped up for me to open awwwww I was like a little kiddie on Christmas morning my sister beside me iching to open them for me I slapped her hand and told her no.  She replied "Nina Pleeeezzzz Can I open one " I replied "No hands off their mine act you age you would think you were 5 not 25" "Speak for yourself she says"  In all fairness she was right hahahaha So I allowed her to open one.  

Each and every gift I opened Were eye openers and items I never tried which was even more excited but two items in particular caught my eyes.  Both gifts were made from the same brand which I had never heard of.  I read the back and its says its and african company Hmmmmm.  But I thought It was Irish Bloggers.  Now I was confused.  A Bandana,  A Bag with African Colours and two items from an African Brand.  This is where both myself and my sister look at each other and then the card.  

Well let me Tell you Now...... Nothing prepared me for what I was about to read on this card.  First of all my secret santa revealed herself (we had a choice to reveal ourselves to our receivers or not) I am so so so glad she did because I was absolutely overwhelmed with the thought that went into these gifts.  Everything had its own meaning I love it.  

By the time I had finished reading the card both my sister and I were in tears I could not believe how thoughtful this woman was.  

Let me show you the card and you will see why she had us in tears!!!!! Click the photo to bring it closer if you need to :) 

WOW!!!!!! Are you in tears?  I bet you feel warm inside.  What an amazing thing to do.  First of all not only did she think of me she thought of my children, buying them sweeties and also the most amazing thing buying the Bandana in which the donation goes to a charity for Cancer Suffers.  Words can not described how much that means to me and I will never ever forget it for as long as I live !!!!!!!!!! My son was very moved by it also when I told him and wanted to thank her himself and here is how he wanted to thank her :) 

So Cindy From Girl With The Skew Earring I thank you from the bottom of my heart from one of the most thoughtful amazing wonderful Christmas present ever I will never ever forget it.  My kiddies loved your sweeties and I surely loved the peppermint bar yummy.  As for all the beauty items I am already Loving the hand sanitiser and the hand lotion they smell amazing so amazing I want to try more items and was even onto the site to see if they ship to Ireland.  Expect some reviews up soon on my new items :) :) 

Cindy you have a heart of gold and You have made a life long friend in me hunny.  We are sending you Huge hugs your way :) :) :) 

For everybody else please check out Cindy's Blog.  She is a hard working mum herself who has alot of hidden talents.  She is originally from African and Living in Ireland 7 years now and as you can tell yourself has an amazing heart :) :) 

Thank you Aisling from Total Makeup Addict for arranging this because without you I wouldnt have made yet another amazing friend :) :) 

I decided to reveal myself to my receiver because I am so glad my secret santa revealed herself.  I will post up her blog post when she has it published later so you can see what I got her.   Overall as you can tell I enjoyed every last bit of this and I hope we can do it again next year there is nothing as great as making people smile after all Tis the Season to be Jolly :) 

Until next time 

Lots of Love Luck an Laughter  

I love love love hearing from you all :) I make it my duty to read each and every one of you comments and every time i get a comment from you it highlights my day thanks so so much to you all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Irish YouTube & Bloggers Meet Up in Cork Ireland

Picture taken at Cork Train Station :) 

Hey My Beauties.  How are you all doing :) 

If you follow me on facebook you would have known by now that on the May Bank Holiday weekend I went to an Irish Youtube & Bloggers Meet up in Cork City Ireland (which was my first time in Cork and first night away from my babies might i Add) I was going to meet up with some of the girls i met up with in the Previous Meet up in Dublin  and i was also getting a chance to meet up with some who could not make it last time.  EXCITING!!!!!!

So i decided to being my sister along as she has been planning on starting her own blog up but needs a little boost (not that im enough lol) but the experience of chatting with other bloggers and meet up might give her an extra boost and of course to give her a break normal life too lol .

So we headed of on Saturday for out 4 - 5 hours journey to Cork.  First getting the bus to Dublin then getting the train.  We were late for the train but it actually worked out for the best as we realised we were then taking the same train as another youtuber/blogger Sarah aka Adoreabubbles.   She is lovely as i had met her before and always chatting to her.  

This is ourselves on the train :) 

So we set on our journey to Cork which surprisingly went by very quick (must of been my superb company eh girls hehehehe) ah no all 3 of us have the same personality so we had great chats and laughs :) :) 

So we arrived in Cork and went our separate ways as my sister and I were staying in different accommodation.  We couldnt wait to see our accommodation as i booked an apartment so that another blogger Megan Rose could stay with us :)  She was arriving a few hours after we were. The place we were staying in was Called The Killarney Lodge and we got a lovely welcome.  We were well impressed with the apartment too it was so homely and comfy we were thrilled 

You like my photo work :) 

Sooooooo Dinner was not until 9 oclock so Sarah (my sister) and I decided to go into the City which was only 5 minutes away from us for a browse :)  We took a look at some shops including Debenhams :) :) where i seen a stall that i just couldnt pass as it had an item on it thats been on my wishlist for like forever.  It was the Urban decay counter and there infront of me as the NAKED PALETTE 1 awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Then my sister came out with this amazing idea "Nina Why dont we go halves for the naked palette" i could have jumped on her she made sense though as i mostly do her makeup for her and she said it would be great to have one expensive makeup product to my collection lol.  So i agreed yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee We own the Naked Palette !!!!!!!!!!!! I couldnt believe it !!!!!! 

So Sarah (adoreabubbles) and Lauren Marie Walsh another blogger met up with us in the Store but i didnt get much time with Lauren as she had to go :( maybe next time Lauren but she seemed lovely :)  

Sarah(adoreabubbles), Lauren and myself :) 

Nails of the night 

So time was ticking and we had to get back to get ready.  When we arrived the Lovely Megan was there and she was just as lovely in person as she was on her blog it was my first time meeting her and we got on so well.  We all got ready and headed to meet the other youtubers/bloggers who were already in the town.  

We were meeting up in Soho Restraint which i have to say looked amazing at night.  Our table was ready and we all sat delighted we were finally together to chat.  It was amazing seeing everyone in front of me and i have to say meeting Sineady Cady aka The Makeup Chair for the 1st time was like a dream as she was one of the 1st Irish beauty gurus i had started watching and i love her channel/ blog and chats with her online but seeing her in person was brilliant she is just as beautiful inside and out!!!!!!!!

All the ladies looked amazing and i mean amazing!!!!!!! Their outfits were to die for :) 

We were all given goodie bags which was exciting i will do a haul on what i got in it on a video :) 

All of us waiting for our food :) 

My lovely meal :) 

Sarahs (my sisters)  lovely meal 

Sarah (my sister) and I 

So after our meal we went to Long Island Cocktail Bar  and ordered a crazy frozen strawberry Cocktail which contained a WHOOOOOLE lotta hair rising alcohol in it lol 

The experience was sort of remember able to be honest we couldnt really hear each other because of the booming music and crazy dancers lol but it was nice.  

Some of the lovely ladies decided the night was over for them we said out goodbyes and some of us went to another place called The Bailey Bar which was more spacious and better music but after a half hour the night was over for us too :) :) 

The next day Myself and Sarah checked out and met with Sarah (adoreabubbles) and hit the shops that were open :) the one shop i just had to hit was the one and only Penneys which i spent an absolute fortune hehehehe but its everything i needed i promise!!!! I will do a haul on what i got from there too.  

We spent a couple of hours with the lovely Jen (who i think is crazy in a good way of course lol ) and then headed to the train station for our journey home 

Both my sister and I had the most amazing time in Cork its such a beautiful place and its such a pity we had no time to see the site etc.  So little time for such a big City but from what we experienced we would definately go again.  We had a brilliant time with all the beauiful ladies and they are all just as amazing in person as they are on their channels and blogsWe all have so much in common and get on so well and im proud to call them my friends 

To see more photos check out my facebook page :) :) I really cant wait for the next meet up :) 

Here is the links to all the girls channels and blogs :) If you dont know them already you gotta check them out they are amazing :) 

Sarah - YouTube: http://youtube.com/user/adoreabubbles

Blog: http://adoreabubbles.blogspot.com/

Sarah K - TouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/makeupbysaz

Blog: http://makeupbysaz.blogspot.com/ 

Sinéad - YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMakeupChair

Blog:  http://themakeupchair.blogspot.com/ 

Megan - YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/LittleBitOfMakeup

Blog: http://alittlebitofmakeupandbeauty.blogspot.com/

Laura - YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/FitzAndBitz/videos

Blog:  http://www.fitznbitz.com/

Marian - Blog:  http://highlifeofmars.blogspot.com/

Jen - http://www.youtube.com/user/jenmurphyxx8

Sarah E - http://www.youtube.com/user/Princesswatshername

Leslie - http://www.youtube.com/LACx0

Millie - http://www.youtube.com/user/MilliTheMuffinQueen

Check out Sineads aka themakeupchairs video on the event:

http://youtu.be/NKryUsCxj5U

Check out Sarahs aka Adoreabubbles video on the event: 

http://youtu.be/jtWx6dv23KA

Im sorry the links came out a different colour i dont know why they are turning out like that but hey they still work :) :) 

So thats it for today.  I hope you enjoyed this :) :) 

Keep an eye out for my Penneys haul which i will link here when i have it done :) and of course my goody bag haul :) 

Until next time 

Take Care 

Nina C

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Irish Vloggers & Bloggers Meet up in Dublin 2011

Well hello there :) 

I hope you are all doing well.  Looking forward to Santa coming.  I know i am.  Well today I am finally getting to tell you all about my experience going to the Irish Vloggers & Bloggers Meet up in Dublin.  I was super super excited about this from the moment i heard it was happening.  Like the excitement of meeting the people you love watching and visiting their blogs everyday.  Wouldnt you???

Well with the excitement came the nerves believe me I was nervous!!!!!! 

Even though I felt I already knew them by following them for so long (stalker much lol) You know what i mean but yes even though i felt like i knew them i was meeting them for the first time arriving on my own and was nervous about clothes, makeup etc.  So anyways along with nerves and excitement I couldnt wait for the day to arrive.  

Well of course with having 5 kiddies 3 of them was sick so of course i was late to meet them and ended up missing out on lunch at the  Salamanca Tapas Bar and Restaurant on Dame Street :(, but i made sure to fill up before i arrived so at least i didnt miss out on food altogether eh?  

When i Arrived i Knew where to go straight away it was hard to miss all the fabulous woman sitting together and as i sat it was like as if we were all the best of mates IT FELT SO RIGHT.  I sat beside Leslie & Millie  and we got chatting straight away.  I asked them how they got on with lunch and they shared with me of how rude their waiter was but that the food was delish.  Just as they were telling me this it was time for everyone to have their tea which came with the lunch.  I was actually dying for a cuppa as i love my tea and Millie suggest i have hers as she wasnt going to have it, when she asked the waiter when was the tea coming around he answered with "sure you didnt order it" with a sarcastic tone on him.  Eh its with the Lunch special HELLO!!!! Anyways here is some photos of us all in the Restraunt :) 

So After about 10 minutes of arriving it was time to head to the Jervis Shopping Centre To Inglot  in which i was oh so excited about as ive never tried their products before :) Where Sarah had arranged with them for us to receive a goody bag in which i want to say a huge thanks to Inglot and Sarah for making this happen :) :) I was delighted with what i got.  I received a Complimentary Makeover voucher an pigment eyeshadow and a lovely compact mirror :) :) 

I just want to show you some of the beautiful decorations around Jervis Shopping Centre before i move on Its just fantastic that was also one of the things i was looking forward to that day......Seeing all the Christmas lights and decorations especially at night :) 

Beautiful eh?  Anyways we decided to take a little trip to Forever 21 while we were there.  I have not been in their in like Forever so i had a good little mozy but to be honest it was so crowded and warm we didnt spend too long there.  I did grab a couple of items while i was there i just couldnt resist i got some costume jewellery :)  Lovely 

So from there we took a little walk over to the Famous Brown Thomas store on Grafton Street where again it was overly packed with crowds so some of us including myself stood outside while some stayed in to browse.  Looking around Grafton street in the evening is beautiful and of course there was some lovely music playing on the street it was great.  I couldnt help but take a couple of photos while i was waiting 2 are of the Window Display of The Brown Thomas Store

At 5 o clock the streets were still crazy packed with people.  So we all decided to go somewhere to sit down and relax for a little while.  Then julie and the girls suggested going for cocktails, well as soon as that was said everyone raced to out destination which as Dandelions beside St Stevens Green shopping centre a beautiful Bar/Bisto so warm and cosy from the moment you walk in the door.  So while the girlies decided what cocktails to go for i was deciding between tea and coffee lol as i was driving (i know for a fact i will be taking the bus the next time lol) because when the cocktails arrived they looked amazing and they were cheap too at €5 each.  It was lovely to sit with the girls and chat about the day and other bits and bobs.  

So as we letf Dandelions the Group got quite small as everyone had to catch buses and trains.  So all there was left was mise, Laura, Sarah and the lovely Paula.  I was loving the scent of the Butlers coffee shop across the way so I just HAD to go over and grap a lovely Latte from there Laura decided she would have an Iced Frappe (bbrrrrrrrr) she put the chills on me even by ordering it lol.  The funniest thing was her face when she came out as she was left standing at the counter for ages and the woman came back to her saying "Sorry we have no straws left"  Like seriously how in the name of god were you suppose to drink an Iced Frappe without the straw lol Laura your cracked me up hahaha.  Anyways we headed into St Stevens green shopping centre for a browse and Sarah decided she wanted an Ice-cream cone with sprinkles of course again it made me wriggle with a chill lol but she was so happy with her ice-cream hahahahahaha.  

Im going on here i will have a book written if i dont stop.  So anyways it was time for me to go as i didnt want the roads getting to icey and said my goodbyes and headed on my 20 minute walk to the car park until a FANTASTIC Scent hit my nose and i couldnt help but follow it.  Yes i ended up walking into LUSH mmmmmmmmm.  Hard as it might be for you to believe but this was my first ever time stepping foot into LUSH.  So i had to buy something lol so IM NO LONGER A LUSH VIRGIN YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

They Smell sooooo goooood :) especially the Lip scrub mmmmmmmmmm.  After saying goodbye to Sarah and Paula before that i ended up bumming into them again in Lush and Paula was in a high because she loves Lush lol she was so funny.  

Do that ended the Day brilliantly with my first purchase from Lush.  :) 

Take a look at Leannes Vlog of our meet up 

& Of course Leslie's Vlog :) 

In all i had a fab day.  I really enjoyed the break and meeting all the girls in person.  I am actually looking forward to meeting them again.  I want to say an extra special thank you to Sarah Kent and of course the lovely Sinead Cady for organising this great day only for them the day wouldnt have been such a hit but unfortunately Sinead nor her sister couldnt make the day as they fell sick :( but hopefully at our next meet up i will have the privilege along with everyone else who couldnt make it.  

Here is a list of the Girls Blogs & Channels for you to enjoy as much as i do!!

Leslie Annemarie:  Her Youtube 
Paula: Her blog

Caoimhe: Her Youtube
Aoife: Her blog & Her Youtube
Milli: Her Youtube 
Holly: Her blog 

Leanne: Her blog & Her Youtube 
Sarah Kent: Her blog .
Vicki: Her Youtube 
Elaine: Her blog 
Sarah (May): Her blog  & Her Youtube 
Laura:  Her blog 
Julie: Her blog & her Youtube .

So finishing up with the last photos of the Day :) :) Hope you enjoyed reading this :) :) and i hope you are all well.  

Until Next time 

Lots of Love, Luck & Laughter 

Nina C 

MERRY CHRISTMAS 

EVERYONE :)