Huge Giveaway - London

I am so excited to announce that myself and Grace from "Faces By Grace" have teamed up with Opsh.com on a HUGE competition. 

To celebrate OPSH launching in the UK, myself and Grace are giving away flights to London for you and your best friend plus an incredible Opsh travel pack including loads of Benefit and eShe goodies!! 

To enter simply sign up to Opsh by emailing win@opsh.com and following the @opsh instagram page! Tag your best friend to enter too to double your chances! 

Good Luck everyone... 

#OpshUKStyle

Skincare : Nip+Fab Review

I have heard a lot about the Nip+Fab products but had never tried any of the range until about two months ago when I was kindly sent some of the glycolic range to try out. 

As some of you know, I suffered from acne in my early 20's, and although my skin has been clear for a year or so now, I am still left with the scarring that comes with acne. The scarring is red and uneven, and I am always looking for a product that smoothes out the appearance of my skin.

The first product that I tried from the Nip+Fab range is the Deep Cleansing Fix. What I love about this cleanser is how it can be used in a few different ways. It melts away make up and deeply cleanses your pores, while the almond oil smoothes out the skin.

You can smell the tea tree in it the minute you open up the tub, which leaves a fresh and tingly feeling on the skin. As well as removing make up, you can also use this cleanser as a 10 minute face mask, to help deeply cleanse and exfoliate your skin.

You can also leave a thin layer of this on your skin as an overnight hydrating mask.
I use this mainly to remove my make up, and use a muslin cloth to add extra exfoliation.
A little goes a long way, so this one is great value for money, retailing at €9.95 and can be purchased HERE

The next product I have been testing out is the Glycolic Fix Serum. Having worked in the beauty industry for over 5 years, I know how affective glycolic acid is on the skin, when used correctly. The AHA's are able to penetrate the skin deeply, making it most effective for treating fine lines, acne, blackheads and oiliness.

There is 4% glycolic acid in this serum, so it is safe to use at home. I found a huge difference in the appearance of my pores around my nose and chin. There is a lovely tightening effect, and the pores are visibly smaller. This one retails at €13.95 and can be purchased HERE

The last Nip+Fab product I have been loving are the Glycolic Fix Exfoliating Pads. They also contains a lower level of glycolic acid (2.8%) and are made to resurface and retexture the skin.

 I have been using these as my toner in my skincare regime and love them. Super easy and quick to use. They retail for €14.99 and can be purchased HERE 

You can pick up the full range of NIP+FAB products from Sam McCauleys chemists, McCabes Pharmacies nationwide and from www.BrandAvenueBeauty.com  

Lots of Love,
Rosie
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Stokke Xplory Review

I am back with another baby post today, and this time it is my review of the Stoke Xplory buggy from Bella Baby. 

When I was pregnant with Harry, this was the buggy I dreamed of having. I always spotted celebrities in the magazines and online with this buggy and just loved the fact it was different to any other buggy out there. I will be honest, I based my love for the Xplory all on looks, and never considered whether it would be practical or not. However, at the time, I decided to go with a much cheaper brand and thought I would invest into one down the line when I knew what I was looking for from my buggy. 

Well, I learnt the hard way that you get what you pay for in life. I bought a pretty inexpensive buggy, in comparison to the average cost of buggies, and can safely say, it just didn't last. Harry was only in it a few months when the handles started to come away, and the steering of it became very stiff and hard to manage. For the price we paid, it did its job, but it was time to get a new buggy and what better one to look at then my "Ultimate Dream Buggy" the Stokke Xplory.

I picked mine up from Bella Baby. When my sister was preparing for the arrival of my niece, she got everything in Bella Baby and found them so helpful and easy to order from so it was the obvious choice. 

I have been using the Stoke Xplory for a few weeks now and I absolutely adore it. I actually look forward to taking Harry out in it, as he is so high up and close to me. It is so easy to interact with him when we are out and about, which is something he loves at 8 months old. He's a nosey little boy so loves being able to be involved in everything we are up to. It is also very easy to get in and out of the car. We live in an apartment but I do not find the Xplory bulky at all, and only ever fold it down when I am taking it in the car. All of the white buttons on the buggy are "action" buttons, so it is easy to follow when taking it down. 

I love the handle on the Xplory, and find it so easy to push with one hand, which is exactly what I need when I am out and need to take a phone call. The Xplory can face inwards or can be turned to face outwards when Harry gets a little bigger. The foot rest is also fully adjustable, so this too grows with your child. There is a 5 point harness system so no risk of him managing to get his arms out of the straps. The handle is also adjustable in height and can be folded right down so that you can put the buggy right into the table of a restaurant, meaning there is no need for a highchair. 

It can also lie back so that Harry can sleep, which is essential if you are on the go and your little one needs a nap.The hood part of the Xplory has a sun visor and really keeps your baby protected from the UV rays. It can also zip back to allow some ventilation on the hotter days.

One of the things I was worried about when I first looked at the Xplory, was the fact there there was no visible basket on the bottom, which is a must if you are trying to do the shopping with your little one. However, the Xplory comes with a  front basket disguised as a shopper bag, and fits everything you could possibly need to carry. I have never been stuck for space with it. I also picked up the matching changing bag, which clips on with two hooks, underneath the buggy and out of the way. 

My verdict on this buggy is that is 100% worth investing in. I love how stylish yet practical it is, and is super for city living. I am yet to find any fault with the Xplory and regret not picking this up from day one. There are so many accessories you can add to the Xplory, including a drinks holder, umbrella for the sun, winter kits and summer kits. They are all available from www.BellaBaby.ie 

The service I had at Bella Baby was second to none, and I will definitely be returning to pick up more things for Harry as he develops.

If you have any more questions on the Stoke Xplory please leave them below. 

Lots of Love,

Rosie 

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My Fitness Journey : Week 2

Two weeks in and I have never felt better! Both my body and mind are really benefiting from the change in diet and exercise regime. I had three training sessions last week with Jessi, and really felt like she worked every single muscle in my body.

The first session last week was all upper body and core work. We used free weights and really worked my shoulders hard, in order to gain some extra muscles as explained in my last post.

We also did lots of planking and core work to focus on getting that super toned tummy.

The next session was focusing on my lower body. Squats, squats and more squats!! I also want really nicely denied calf muscles so we did lots of calf raises to add extra definition. Lunges were also the order of the day, and again, we also incorporated core work into the training session. 

Our last session of the week focused on my chest and back. I am a huge lover of backless dresses and tops, and with my wedding to work towards, I really want a nice sculpted back. My body definitely hurt in places I didn't know were possible to hurt the next day. 

My diest suffered a little last week as I had a hectic working week, from back to back meetings, to two photoshoots on Thursday and Friday. I tried to be as prepared as possible, but by the end of the week I did pop out for dinner with Paul and have a pasta dish!! (Don't tell Jessi!)

As I mentioned in my last post, Jessi from BikiniBody.ie runs an 8 week online training programme, and this is the last week to sign up for the next course. This includes your full training programme, diet plan, shopping list and recipes, 24/7 access to Jessi for nutritional and training advice, plus you are also added to a Facebook group with others who are all doing the challenge too. 

You can sign up on www.BikiniBody.ie 

Before I sign off for another week, I decided to include a quick recipe for the Peri Peri chicken salad I made for dinner this evening. 

I don't know if putting a salad together can be classed as a recipe but a lot of you have asked so here it is - 

- Chicken Breast stir fried in coconut oil with The Food Chef "Peri Peri" seasoning (available from www.Bodyfirst.ie)

- red/green peppers and baby corn thrown into stir fry for the last few minutes

- Served on a salad of spinach, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, spring onion and beetroot. 

- Served with a sprinkling of walnuts and some cider vinegar

PS. It was DELICIOUS! 

Until next week....

Lots of Love,

Rosie 

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Park Life : Outfit Details

So my internet break didn't quite last as long as I had promised, but I did manage to leave my phone at home today and enjoy a lovely family day in St. Stephen's Green in Dublin. 

I love having such a beautiful park right in the centre of the city. Its not quite Central Park, but I love the chilled out vibes the minute you step foot inside.

My outfit details are below - 

White T - Penneys

Jeans - Penneys

Kahki Waistcoat - Zara (Buy Here)

Shoes - Penneys old stock (Similar here)

Sunglasses - Celiné (Buy Here)

Watch - Daniel Wellington from Tower Jewellers, Blanchardstown SC.

Here's to a fun filled week ahead..

Lots of Love,

Rosie 

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My Fitness Journey : Week 1

So here I am, having survived a week without sugar!! I never thought I would ever be able to say that. Today marks the end of my first week on my new healthy lifestyle change, and training with Jessi Kavanagh. I have to say, I am already feeling the changes of the new diet and intense workouts.
I have trained twice with Jessi this week, both sessions lasting 30 minutes each.

Session 1

On our first session we trained the upper body and did some gentle tummy exercises. Jessi does not want to start out with intense tummy crunches as she wants to make sure my tummy muscles are ready for that, after giving birth to my son 7 months ago.
She also explained to me, that in order to get results from a 30 minute workout, there would not be room for breaks and the 30 minutes would be back to back training, to get the most out of your time. I was nervous about my first training session, as I have never worked with a personal trainer before, and it is not like a fitness class that you can just hide at the back hoping the trainer won't see you slacking!! She was so attentive to everything, and watched every part of my body as I did the workout, making sure everything was being executed correctly and that my posture was correct.
The first session went in so quickly, and before I knew it,  we were done. That does not mean I wasn't exhausted!! We also did some burpees and jumping jacks at intervals to get my heart rate up so I was out of breath and sweating by the end of the session.

Session 2

The following day, Jessi was back to train my lower body. I woke up with a very sore and tight upper body so was glad to give that a little rest and work on my lower half. We focused on squatting, lunges and calf raises, as well as planking and more core work. This session really knocked it out of me, but again, the 30 minutes was done before I even had a chance to check the time.

Diet

Now for the diet. I always knew that this would personally be my biggest challenge, as I needed to completely overhaul my eating habits. As I explained before, I was surviving on sugar and caffeine, and that all ended this week. I got rid of anything that I was not allowed to have from the house, so there was no temptation, and stocked up on all the healthy grub Jessi had planned out for me. My fridge has never looked so colourful with all the lovely fruit and veg I have picked up. One thing I can say about this programme, is that I have not felt hungry even once. In fact, I struggle to eat everything that is on my diet plan sometimes, as there is so much choice, and you are eating every 3 hours. I have definitely noticed a difference in my tummy, and it is certainly not as bloated from cutting out bread and sugar. I will admit, the detox from sugar has been hard, and I have been feeling a little tired and have had a few headaches but I am confident that will go once my body adjusts to this new lifestyle. I have increased my water intake dramatically and definitely feel better for it. The first few days, I was in the loo every five minutes but again, that is starting to settle down.

Supplements

I also popped out to Bodyfirst Nutrition in Clontarf to stock up on some supplements to help me with my training. I think there is sometimes the impression that unless you want to be ripped with huge muscles, then you shouldn't be taking protein but that is not the case (So I am told, I am clueless about this kind of thing!!) If you cannot get to their stores, you can shop online at www.Bodyfirst.ie

First thing I picked up was the BSN Syntha-6 Edge protein in the Chocolate Milkshake flavour and OH MY GOODNESS... it is so tasty! I actually look forward to drinking this!

The next thing I picked up is the F.K.D Pre workout in Kola Krush. This is for taking before my training to give me that energy boost I need to work harder. It smells like cola bottles,  but I am yet to try it out. I will report back in next weeks post when I have given this a go.

While I was squatting, I noticed that my knees were clicking so Jessi recommended picking up some fish oils to help my joints. I am taking these Optimum Nutrition Fish Oil softgels with every meal, so I am hoping they will make a difference.

While I was chatting to the guys at Bodyfirst, I was telling them how I was stuck with what I was going to cook my chicken with, as I find plain chicken super boring. I picked up two seasonings from The Gym Chef Food Company. I have tried them both and the smallest amount really does go a long way.

Lastly I have been trying out the Quest bars as a little treat, and so far so good. I love the mint chocolate one (hence why there is none to photograph!!)  Looking forward to trying out the rest of the flavours too.

So that's it guys. That is the end of week one, and I am so happy to be on a new journey to a fitter, healthier me. Check back in next week to see how I get on with my second week of training.  If you are looking to get fit, but are not in the position to have Jessi come to your house every week, she also has an online 8 Week Bikini Body Challenge which you can do from ANYWHERE in the world! This includes your full training programme, diet plan, shopping list and recipes, 24/7 access to Jessi for nutritional and training advice, plus you are also added to a Facebook group with others who are all doing the challenge too. This is a great way to keep motivated and share your progress and tips with other participants. For more info on this, head over to www.BikiniBody.ie

Lots of love,

Rosie
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My Fitness Journey : Assessment Day

Hi Everyone. I hope you all had an amazing Bank Holiday weekend, and for those of you who were out, I hope the hangover is easing. 

As I mentioned before, today was the day that I began my new journey to being a fitter, healthier me. 

As you may know, myself and Paul got engaged a few weeks ago now, and for me, this was the kick I needed to actually look at my diet and see where I am going wrong. 

Don't get me wrong, I am happy with my body and I have luckily bounced back into the same shape I was in before I had my son, 7 months ago now. However, just because someone is naturally slim, does not automatically mean that they are necessarily healthy or fit. I have always gotten away with eating what I want and my body staying the same, but this has also lead to very bad eating habits. 

This is where Jessi Kavanagh comes in. Jessi has been a personal trainer and nutritionist for over 10 years and really knows her stuff. She is going to be training me 3 days a week for the next 8 weeks. The amazing thing about Jessi's workouts is that it is in my house, and for 30 minutes a session. This is so doable with a baby and leaves me with no excuses not to work hard. 

Jessi popped over to my house this morning to go through my assessment day. Initially, I was nervous as to what was involved and what I would need to do. Jessi reassured me that the assessment was all about setting out my goals and getting ourselves a starting point to work from. 

The first thing we talked about was how I felt my body was since having my son, and how I thought my pregnancy changed my body. For me, I did not see much difference in my body after I had Harry, as I bounced back to my original shape pretty quickly due to my fast metabolism (which I have my Dad to thank for!) However, I felt that I really wanted to focus on my tummy, bum and arms. 

I explained to Jessi that although I wanted abs, I did not want anything too muscular, as I am very petite and want to stay quiet lean but not bulky if that make sense. I want to flatten out my tummy, and bring my waist in as much as I can. Jessi also explained to me that as I am petite, by adding a little muscle to my shoulders, this would automatically make my waist appear even tinier. I also wanted to target my arms. I have very slim arms but wanted a bit more tone to them, again without adding too much bulk. 

The last area for me was my lower body. Although the HUGE bum is so on trend right now, for me, this is not the goal. As I have mentioned, I am petite and have a small frame and small chest, so having a huge bubble butt just wouldn't look right. So the aim with my bum is to lift and shape it, while growing it slightly. With regards to my legs, I want to keep them toned and build on my calf muscles. Jessi took note of everything that I wanted to change or alter and will use this to plan out my weekly workouts. 

We then moved on to measurements, as this is the best way to really tell if you are getting results. She measured my hips, waist and tummy area. She also weighed me. Unfortunately, I am under weight for my height, weighing in at 48.3KG (106lbs) so ideally we want to increase my weight on the scales but do it the healthy way. 

This brought us on to diet. I could see the panic in Jessi's eyes when I told her what I ate on a regular day. I would generally have a bowl of rice krispies or a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast between 7-8am. I then would have a coffee and cake or chocolate at about 2/3pm and finally my dinner at 7pm. Obviously this is not enough food for one day, so by 9pm I would be starving and end up bingeing on crisps, chocolate and takeaways. I would also have a glass of red wine about three times a week, and as for water.... I don't think one glass a day is even worth mentioning. So as you can see, even though I am slim, and appear healthy, I am far from it. My poor body has been surviving on caffeine and sugar for far too long so it is time to change my unhealthy lifestyle, if not for me, then for Harry. I want to have as much energy as I can for when he begins running around, and we all know coffee and chocolate are just not going to cut it. 

Jessi informed me that from now on, I will be eating 6 meals per day. I will be eating every 3 hours and upping my water intake to 2.5 litres a day, minimum. There will also be absolutely NO alcohol, which to be honest, doesn't phase me that much. I can take it or leave it. 

We then planned out what days I will be training this week and Jessi headed off to put together my full diet plan and shopping list for the week. 

As much as I am a little scared about having to change my diet completely, I know it is for my long term health, and if my body improves in appearance then that is an added bonus. My end goal is to feel fitter, healthier, happier and have more energy. 

I am going to be updating you every week on my progress, and how I am finding the diet and exercise. I promise to give you an honest account, and not filter out the hard days or the bad days. 

As they say, Rome wasn't built in a day, but I have to start somewhere, and I know I am in safe hands with Jessie Kavanagh.

Please take a look at her Facebook and Instagram for more info, and make sure to follow her for lots of healthy living tips. 

I can't wait to take you along with my on my fitness journey.

Lots of love, 

Rosie 

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