I'll Take You Away From This Horrible Town

We took these photos by the lake in a little French town called Mansigné. I spotted this first-aid post and thought it would be the perfect location to take some outfit photos. 

Photos by Simon and I

Dress- Zara (currently on sale instore)

Jacket- Penneys/Primark

Sunglasses- eBay

Bag- Coach via eBay

Shoes- Clarks Carousel Ride

Rings- COS

Anklet- H&M

Lips- Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Olé Flamingo

Nails- KIKO Juicy Pitaya

I spotted this dress in Zara last month and fell in love. I've always wanted a gingham dress but had never found the right one for me until now. Did I mention it has pockets? Well, it does. Find me a girl that doesn't love a dress with pockets and I'll call you a liar. I added the photo of the back of the dress to show off the cute bow and cut out detail despite the unsightly glimpse of my white bra (sorry). 

I love these simple rings I got from COS. I have been loving the brand recently, their stores are such a pleasure to shop in and I love how everything is merchandised. Their jewellery in particular has really impressed me, I love the clean lines and minimalism of everything and it isn't too expensive either which is always appreciated. 

I decided to try out anklets again having not worn one since I was a pre-teen. I got this in H&M in a pack with four toe rings which I have yet to sport, but plan on doing very soon. 

These Clarks ballet flats have been on my feet a lot since I got them a few months ago, they're cute and comfortable and go with almost anything. 

What have been your Summer wardrobe staples so far this year?

Emma x

REN Invisible Pores Detox Mask and Vita Mineral Lip Balm

I was very impressed by my first foray into REN Skincare, I've previously used the Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask and the Radiance Perfection Serum and I loved both of them but my skin has become more oily recently so I was looking for a mask that would mattify my skin and reduce the size of my pores. I decided to try out the Invisible Pores Detox Mask and I got the Vita Mineral Lip Balm at the same time. I've been using them for the past month and I'm so impressed with both products.




The mask is suggested for combination to oily skin which is my skin type. It's a clay based mask so it's supposed to dry out any impurities and excess oil and eliminate dead skin cells . The other natural ingredients are meant to encourage cell renewal and restructure of the skin and leave skin soft and smooth with less visible imperfections.




I use this once a week and I've found the mask did what it claimed it would, it gave my skin an overall clear, fresh and toned appearance and it has also helped to control the excess oil on my T-zone. It also didn't feel drying or tight like other clay based masks I've used in the past. I'll definitely be repurchasing this. You can buy it from €22-28 from sites like Look Fantastic, Cloud 10 Beauty and in Space NK and Marks and Spencers.




The next REN product I want to tell you about is the Vita Mineral Lip Balm. I bought this on a whim after running out of my Caudalie Lip Conditioner and I've been using it non stop since. I love that it comes in a tube so you can squeeze the balm out as needed and apply it with fingers or with the applicator, I prefer the latter as it's more hygienic when you're out and about.

The texture is silky and smooth with a more glossy finish than I'm used to from a lip balm but it makes it perfect for those days where you want to give your lips a break from lipstick but still want them to look nice.

As you can see below the lip balm has an impressive list of ingredients. The Acacia honey has anti- bacterial properties. Vitamin E is an anti-oxidant that protects and repairs the skin and Shea Butter soothes and moisturises the lips.  I had never heard of Calendula oil before so I did some research and apparently it is derived from Marigold flowers and is a powerful anti- inflammatory, anti- bacterial and antiseptic. It seems to have countless uses and benefits so definitely a skincare ingredient to look our for if you like natural products.

The lip balm is priced between €11-12 and can be bought in the same stockists as above.





One of the things I love about REN is that their products contain 100% naturally derived plant and mineral ingredients and are free from synthetic ingredients like sulphates, paragons and silicones. All of the products smell amazing which is an added bonus and makes the products even more of a pleasure to use. The other thing that attracts me to REN is their beautiful minimalist packaging, each range is colour coded too which is a nice touch.


Have you tried REN yet? Do you use any other natural skincare brands?

Emma x

PS. I was at a REN press event yesterday for a very exciting new product launching in September. I tried it for the first time today and will be letting you know my thoughts closer to the launch date.

KIKO Sun Show Nail Lacquer

During our visit to France, we took a day trip to the beautiful city of Le Mans. We went to a shopping centre there which had a KIKO store so I took the opportunity to pick up some products to try out. One of the current Limited Edition collections KIKO has on offer is Life in Rio, a Summer collection consisting of products with beautiful vibrant packaging and many of the products are water/sun proof and contain SPF.

The Sun Show Nail Lacquers caught my eye straight away and I struggled to choose just one of the nine shimmery shades. I eventually went with shade 471 Juicy Pitaya (a Pitaya is a Dragon Fruit, FYI), a beautiful iridescent hot pink. 

I have two other shades of KIKO Nail Lacquers and to be perfectly honest I didn't find them to be the most long wearing formula, however I'm more than willing to overlook that when the shade is as gorgeous as this one. Despite that, they are very easy to apply and have my favourite thing in a nail polish- a big brush. They are also easy to remove which isn't always the case with these shimmery polishes. 

This particular range is more expensive than the normal Nail Lacquers at €5.90,  unfortunately they are only available to Ireland from the European website but I am hoping KIKO will be available here in the future as I'm really impressed with the brand and would love to try out more of their products. 

I have a few more things from KIKO which I have yet had the chance to use but once I do I will hopefully share them with you.

 Are there any brands we don't have here in Ireland (or in your country) that you would love to get your hands on?

Emma x

'Cause When You're Standing Oh So Near, I Kinda Lose My Mind

I was in France at the end of May staying just outside the lovely little town of Écommoy in the Loire Valley. We stayed in a Gite on the grounds of a Chateau for 11 days and then in the Chateau itself on our last night. It was the longest I've been off work since I started working there seven years ago and it was exactly what I needed after the rollercoaster that's been the past six months or so. 

Here is the first of four sets of outfit photos we took while we were there. 

Photos by Simon and I

Kimono, Skirt and T-Shirt- H&M

Bag- Next

Sandals- Clarks

Sunglasses- Primark

Nails- KIKO Sun Show Nail Lacquer in 471 Juicy Pitaya

Lips- KIKO Velvet Mat Lipstick in 605 Orange Red

I got this kimono in H&M a few months ago and I've worn it so much since, it's so light and comfortable and perfect for those Summer days when there's a bit of a chill in the air. I got this bag at a Next press day and I absolutely love it, the longer strap is detachable and there is a smaller wrist strap so it can be used two ways. It's the perfect bag for when you only need your phone and wallet (and a lipstick). 

I've also been wearing these Clarks sandals a lot as they're so comfortable when I'm on my feet all day in work. I bought the lipstick in KIKO while we were in Le Mans as well as some other things that I will be reviewing soon. I loved it after wearing it only once, such a beautiful vibrant shade and so inexpensive. I really hope KIKO come to Ireland soon.

A big thank you to Simon for taking the photos for me, I think he did an amazing job for his first time!

Emma x

A Thousand Words #4

I've been slacking a lot on posting recently and even though it's the first day of June, I wanted to share some of what I got up to during April. If you want to see more, check out my instagram. 

Summer florals haul from Accessorize

L'Oréal Pistachio Dragée; No7 Golden Sands; BarryM Greenberry

Clarks Carousel Ride, the perfect nude ballet flats

Roses de Chloé, my new favourite scent

The beginnings of Summer in Stephen's Green

OOTD in Dun Laoghaire

Pre-gig Blue Moons

Kurt Vile in Whelans

Seeing my face on the No7 leaflet for the first time in-store. You can read about my experience here

TBT- Kate and I, My first school photo, Myself, my cousin Sean and Kate on the north beach in Skerries

Gorgeous floral themed windows in Brown Thomas

Chocolate chunk cookies with Dairy Milk and Milky Bar

Reading some Moomin books

Beauty in the strangest of places

Grafton Street looking beautiful drenched in sunshine

Pear and almond tart in Le Petit Parisien; Chocolate, pear and almond tart in Queen of Tarts; Chocolate cookie ice cream sandwich in Eddie Rockets; Carrot cake muffin in Avoca

Celebrating Record Store Day with the first record I ever bought

Mother's Day

Kitser

Ramen in Wagamama

Moxie, the loveliest dog

Moomin, courtesy of my BFF Lisa

Looking through my school art projects while moving

All you can eat Chinese food with the BFF

Filming for Shemazing.ie in Boots

Cronuts at the Kate Moss X Topshop breakfast launch

Featured in U Magazine

Coral dress, lips and nails; Testing out the new Bourjois lipsticks; Blood Orange San Pellegrino; The first iced coffee of the Summer

As you can see I had a pretty action-packed April. I try to keep my instagram photos happy and positive, but what you don't see here is all of the heartache and sadness as I moved out of my apartment. Unfortunately Donnacha and I have gone our separate ways and I wanted to write about it here because this blog began as one that documented my life and for almost 8 years, my relationship with Donnacha was one of the biggest parts of my life. He was also the biggest supporter of my blog and without his love and constant help with everything from taking my outfit photos to proof reading, this blog would most definitely not exist. 

Sometimes it's hard to understand things that happen in our lives, we can feel like we've lost control and would give anything to have that control back. It's sometimes very difficult to understand yourself, let alone explain to the people around you how you feel and make them understand. I'm not a perfect person, I am flawed, I am human, I make mistakes, probably on a daily basis and sometimes you really don't know what to do or what decisions to make and it can be overwhelming. 

Obviously I don't want to go into the ins and outs of my relationship on such a public forum, I don't think that would be fair or necessary. I just wanted to acknowledge that Donnacha is an amazing man, one in a million in the truest sense of the phrase. Anyone who is lucky enough to know him knows how special he is. I want to thank him for being there from the start of Ol' Green Eyes. He was there when I came up with the idea of starting a blog, he patiently took countless beautiful photographs for me, taught me how to use editing software and allowed me to use his camera whenever I wanted to. He was always the first person to read every one of my posts even if 99% of them didn't interest him at all. For these things and so much more I am truly thankful. 

Change is hard. You find yourself adjusting because you have no other choice, I've gone through a lot of major life changes over the past year and I am still learning, about myself and about other people, I am making the best of difficult situations, it's the only thing I can do. 

"You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them", I always loved that quote from To Kill A Mockingbird, but I never really understood it until recently. 

I also wanted to share this with you to explain why things have been so sporadic here over the past few months. My living situation is still up in the air as is my work situation so it's been difficult trying to get back to regular blogging, both reading and writing, with so much going on, so thank you for bearing with me. 

I hope you all are well, thank you for your continued support, you don't know just how much it means to me.

Emma x