5 Things #9

5 Songs

The Original Rudeboys - Never Gonna Walk Away

The Vamps - Can We Dance

Zedd ft Hayley Williams - Stay The Night

Birdy - Wings

Jake Bugg - Broken

5 To Look At

1. A few weeks ago, I replied to a tweet by Kirstie on morning routines, & the result was this piece on how long it takes 6 women to get ready in the morning!

2. A variety of Irish artists have collaborated on Simple Things, an album made as the soundtrack to the battle to break the cycle of suicide in Ireland - A tenner well spent. 

3. I've watched What Richard Did a few times, but Jack Reynor's performance still gets me! It's such a brilliant, moving Irish film.

4. After hearing that McFly & Busted were uniting for a tour, I was excited. After seeing their first live performance, I'm even more excited!

5. Just in case anyone is going through the same "I want lots of food ideas" phase as I am, this website is pretty handy!

5 That Made Me Smile

1. Never mind smile, this Twitter convo made me sit on my bed & full on laugh. Some serious work there by those social media accounts!
2. After letting my skin fall to pieces over here, & reading review after review on Clinique's Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm, I finally took the plunge & I now enjoy cleansing.. Morning & night.
3. One night last week after a few drinks, I started dreaming of a Chinese & came close to tears thinking about one. Coincidentally, one of my friends asked the next day if I wanted to get a Chinese. Yes, yes I did. It was fabulous.
4. I'm going to Frankfurt for the weekend, seeing my boyfriend & his friends.. Who are bringing stuff from home for me. Seriously looking forward to it!
5. My blog views have gone up quite a bit the last two weeks, which makes me smile! I'd love to increase my GFC followers to 200, & increase my Facebook page likes a bit - It really motivates me!

How was your week?
Chloe x

Life On Erasmus #2: Things I Miss

So, I've now been here for 8 weeks. Time for the novelty to wear off & panic to hit. Mainly panic about what food is most like Irish stuff, & how to adapt. Last week I read loads about what people most miss about Ireland when abroad.. & here's my version.

A decent chicken & mayo roll. I used to grab one of these from Centra beside where I worked, almost daily. I almost went through withdrawal on my days off. This is a Wexford thing - During college, I tried a few different shops around Dublin & the chicken always tasted like plastic. I'm dying to get back to work, for my lunchtime roll.




I miss work. I complained occasionally but I loved my job. I've been emailing my boss regularly, with the result that I will be working full-time over Christmas. Okay, that's obviously taking up time from my family, but the money will be appreciated & it means cabin fever won't set in.

Mashed spuds & stew. Look, I can cook, but I don't make spuds just for myself, & I definitely can't make stew. Also, decent soup. I want a nice big bowl of farmhouse vegetable soup with some nice brown bread!

Penneys & Tesco. There are loads of shops I miss, but these are the main ones. It's just so easy to run into Penneys & pick up cheap basics, or a nice warm pair of PJs, instead of the €20 that seems to be common here. And I spent a lot of time in Tesco in the morning, before work, or afterwards. There's similar shops here but.. They're not the same.

A real fire. This is something I miss when I'm in college too, but at least then I'd have a fire at the weekend. While my room is always nice & toasty from my heating, nothing beats sitting in front of the fire when it's cold & wet!

Obviously there are lots more things I miss.. Friends & family go without saying, & while everyone else talks constantly about Cadburys, tea, etc... I actually brought a stock pile of Irish chocolate & many, many Lyon's teabags over here. & I haven't finished them up yet. I knew my priorities!

What're your favourite things about home?

Chloe x

Maybelline Big Eyes Volum' Express Mascara

One of the best things about a new country? New make up to try out... Especially new mascaras. Maybelline make some of my favourite mascaras so I was unbelievably excited to find a new one here! Big Eyes is a dual ended mascara, with one end (the purple) being for top lashes, & the other (black) being for bottom lashes. Definitely an idea I can get on board with! Most mascaras aren't really suitable for bottom lashes, & I left my Clinique Bottom Lash mascara at home. So I picked this up mainly for my lower lashes but with high hopes for the other mascara too!

The packaging is very slim for a Maybelline mascara. As you can see, it's half purple & half black, so you know which end is for which lashes. Not much more to say really! The brushes are attached onto the main part of the tube, & the removable sides of the mascara are the tubes of the formula. (Hopefully that makes sense!)

Left - Top lashes brush. Right - Bottom lashes brush.

The brushes are quite different. The one for top lashes is a bit bigger, & the bristles catch on to A LOT of mascara. Honestly? Not a fan. It does offer a bit of volume, but nowhere near as much as my other mascaras, & length isn't improved majorly. I also feel like it clumps my lashes together just a bit too much. It's not awful, I just much prefer my lashes to be more dramatic! But all is not lost - The brush for the bottom lashes is much smaller & neater, & the bristles are quite small & only dispense a bit of mascara onto your lashes. The wand is also longer, so it's perfect for getting under your eyes without smudges!

But..While I'm definitely going to continue using this on my bottom eyelashes, & won't hesitate also using the mascara for the top lashes in an emergency, I can't wait to get my Clinique back, and wouldn't bother repurchasing whatsoever. I hate writing negative reviews, but while I loved the concept, it just didn't deliver. That said, it's handy to throw in a bag, & if the thought of spending €16 on a mascara for just bottom lashes makes you feel sick, it is a decent alternative - This costs €10.99. While I don't believe it is yet available in Ireland, you might see it on your travels, if it's something you'd like to try.

Have you come across dual ended mascaras? What do you use on your bottom lashes?
Chloe x