My before & afters - why I do them..

Hey everyone!

I was not ever planning to do a blog post on this but it has been brought to my attention a lot recently and I think it's for many reasons!

People always ask: why do you do before and afters? I have a few answers for that one. Mainly, I like to show the power of makeup and what it can do, how it can change how a person looks. Secondly, I do like to show off my talent at covering blemishes, it's not hard to do but I like that side of it too, as vain as it may sound. Thirdly, just because I can.

People also ask: where did  you find the confidence to show off your bare face? To be honest, showing my bare face is not an issue for me. I can take selfies without makeup, I can go about my day without a scrap of makeup on like I'm just okay with it. I wouldn't say I'm too comfortable in my own skin because if you've been reading recently then you will know that I'm undergoing some skincare treatments to help my skin so I'm not comfortable with my blemishes but I just live with them.

People then ask: but why and how do you do it? My answer to that is, we're all humans. It doesn't matter if you're male, female, a makeup addict or a natural beauty. We will probably all experience a blemish at least once or twice in our life. Some of us get it bad and some may be lucky to only get a few blemishes a year! Everyone is different, everyone's skin is different but we're all subject to a blemish or two.

I just want to show my followers on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat that it's okay like. It's fine to show off a bare face. We're all in the one boat. I just didn't want to be constantly uploading photos of myself with full coverage makeup & my skin looking flawless and people thinking: wow she has great skin. The fact of the matter is that I don't have perfect skin and probably never will.

I don't have acne but I do get bad breakouts. If you do suffer from any skin problems I would recommend seeing a professional to help you get it sorted. That's what I'm doing right now and I'm so excited to get on the road to better skin. I'm hoping my skin will improve but I'll still do before and after's! I have freckles and pigmentation and all that good stuff so don't worry, I'll still have to cover up a few bits.

I hope you enjoyed this post and gained a bit more confidence about your skin. Just remember we're all human, we all get a spot or two and you can go out in public without makeup on! I only wear makeup about 3 times a week so it's not big deal! Don't worry or stress about it, go see someone if you are concerned but just don't let your skin hold you back. I feel awful when someone tells me they can't go into town without a full face on, it's such a pity because you could just be going for milk!

I'd encourage you to take a few bare faced selfies! Let's all remind each other that it's grand to not have a flawless face! It's so unrealistic anyways, no one has a flawless face. Not even Beyonce or Kendall Jenner so don't be too hard on yourself!

Thanks for reading!Xx

My skin care consultation!

Hey everyone!

So today I want to tell you all about my skincare consultation but I'm going to have to throw in a disclaimer!

This is about MY skin, MY skin type, texture and needs. I would highly suggest you go see a professional about YOUR skin. Everyone is different, we all have different needs and you won't know these needs until you go see someone about it. I would recommend Marcelle because she has been in the business for years and all consultations about skincare treatments and needs are free so it would be a good idea to go have you skin checked out.

Now that's out of the way, you may have seen my blog post about the products I was bringing to the consultation. I brought an entire bag full of stuff, the poor woman didn't know what to do when she saw me coming. I will leave photos below of what I can use now so you'll be able to see the difference in what products I had before and now!

So my skin type is oily in the t-zone and normal everywhere else & also not sensitive so please keep that in mind. I knew I had an oily t-zone, you can see that from a mile off but I didn't know the rest.

I had a heap of products that were amazing but just not suited for my skin type. I had a range of sensitive skin products and anti-wrinkle creams! Handy to have but I don't need them just yet.

So for me, we got rid of everything for sensitive skin and anti-aging products. Needless to say my mother was delighted to get my leftovers! To be honest, I never even looked at the labeling of products & didn't even think it was a bad thing to have sensitive skin products - I thought they were all the same!

I'm no professional but Marcelle is and she recommends to buy products that only suit your skin type because otherwise it just won't work for you. So there's a little tip. Read the label and buy what suits you. I do not have sensitive skin so I didn't need half of what I had. Now the products did work on me, just not as well as they would have if they were actually for oily skin.

I also had a tone of dry skin products which I don't have. It would be very strange for me to have dry patches, I think I've gotten 2 in my life and that was due to cold Winters!

But lads other than those few bits I'm going to go into too much detail because as I said, you'd be better off to go see a professional rather than take my word for any products. I'm just going to leave photos below of what products I have now so that you can compare from last time. I'm also going to throw in a photo of my skin now, it's currently getting used to a new routine so it will get worse before it gets better so that's why I have even more of a break out now!

So as you can see my skin isn't that much better but hopefully it will get there!

I had a double up of the Skincode products there because the cleansing gel was in the bathroom and I'm very lazy. I'm also aware that the Micellar water is for sensitive skin but I needed to keep it to remove my makeup but I will be picking up the one for oily skin!

I hope you enjoyed this post. I'm going to leave a link to my last post here, so that you can compare - http://jodirochemakeup.blogspot.ie/2016/07/what-products-ill-be-taking-to-my-skin.html

Thanks for reading!Xx

My First Ever Massage!

Hey everyone!

I'm going to bombard you with blog posts today but while it's fresh in my head I wanted to share it with you all. So while I was getting my facial done I also got a massage. First time ever getting a proper massage and why have I waited so long? Now Marcelle and Siobhan are so lovely that they wanted me to experience it and by God will I be going back for more.

It was truly the perfect evening, perfect way to relax and de-stress and just forget about life for a little while. I can't thank or recommend the girls enough for being so lovely to me and making me feel at ease.

Now I can't say that I suffer from anxiety or anything like that because I honestly don't know much about it and I just don't know but certain situations can be stressful so I won't say I was anxious but I was definitely nervous about even just getting a facial! This massage was a little surprise for me so I was kinda thrown in at the deep end. Remember this was my first time ever getting a massage of any sort.

Today was a day full of 'firsts' but anyways I just felt it was important to tell you that I was a bit nervous when I heard I would be getting a massage because I just didn't know what it would entail like of course I've seen and heard about it all but I dunno the thought of not having any clothes on the top half just scared me. But it was actually grand. At the end of the day, we're all women and I was covered fully anyway and given my own space and time to change and stuff like that.

So although I was a bit uneasy about it, I was grand once we got into it. Siobhan does the massages in Marcelle's Beauty Rooms and she is just fab! I got a neck, shoulder and back massage and also an Indian scalp massage.

Now I'm the kind of person that doesn't know if they're allowed talk for these things so I relaxed for the first while but then wanted to ask about all of this and Siobhan was more than happy to chat away to me and explain it all.

A neck, shoulder and back massage is what is says on the tin and Siobhan just uses her hands and oils for this which is absolutely lovely. I think anyone and everyone would benefit from that massage because we all carry a lot of stress on our shoulders and it's good to get a massage to release all of the stress! I had a heap of knots in my back which are all gone now, thank God.

The scalp massage is actually part of the Indian head massage but because I was getting a facial the girls didn't want to be mixing oils in with the Nía products but the scalp massage was lovely again. So relaxing and I love it when anyone plays with my hair anyways so I almost fell asleep during that! This relaxes you and can help stimulate hair growth! So many benefits to it all.

Lads like I honestly don't know why I didn't do any of this sooner. I'm always complaining about the pain and knots in my back to my friends and family and they always tell me to go do something about but I was just scared to be honest, I didn't want it to hurt me! This Indian head massage costs just €20.

As I mentioned I didn't have the full thing because of the facial but the next time I book in I'll be getting it all done because Siobhan told me that it can really help with sinus issues which I have too, I constantly get migraines and I'll do anything to help them. So I'm really excited to go back again!

I just want to thank the girls for throwing that in for me too, I really enjoyed it and appreciate it. I will 100% be back for more massages and treatments. They actually won't get rid of me but I just think it's good to treat yourself because we all need a break from time to time!

I will leave all of Siobhan's details below incase any of ye want to look into it but I would highly recommend it. I actually have had trouble sleeping the past week or two and I feel like I'm still so relaxed and ready for bed today!

I hope you enjoyed this post and treat yourself some evening to unwind from it all.

Thanks for reading!Xx

My First Ever Facial!

Hey everyone!

If you didn't already know, I went for a facial today. It was my first time ever getting any facial of any sort. I went to Marcelle's in Abbeyside which ye all know by now! Marcelle only uses Nía products. Nía is an Irish brand and is all natural and organic. I will leave a link here to their website: https://www.nia.ie/

I'm honestly not too sure what products Marcelle used because I was simply too busy enjoying the treatment. But if I remember correctly, I got a good cleanse with some lovely warm water on the face, exfoliated and then a Nía face mask that Marcelle had to suit my skin and then cleansed all that off and applied some serum, I think.

As I said I wasn't paying too much attention as my eyes were closed and I was just so relaxed. Not one thought came into my head during this whole treatment other than: this is lovely!

My skin feels like new and so so soft. I would highly recommend Marcelle's like I just can't get over how relaxed I was and how I could just switch off, I mean, really switch off for once! It was such a lovely experience and I will 100% be going back to treat myself to it more often.

Some of you may de-stress through working out or doing another hobby but I really found this helpful. A lot has been going on in life recently and it was just unreal to sit back and relax.

Personally I think my skin is glowing and I'll just pop a few photos below. Now bare in mind I do have a break out on my face but I had a skin consultation too so it should start to get better within the next few weeks but this blog post is just about the facial.

A Nía facial costs €50 and a mini facial costs €30. The real difference is that you get a good deep cleanse with the Nía facial. Also included in that facial is a massage on the chest and neck area which sounds lovely! The whole experience was a delight and while I was getting the facial my face seemed to be getting a lovely massage too now maybe that's the norm but as I said this was my first one!

Thoroughly enjoyed my facial today with Marcelle and I will be back because it was just so relaxing. It's nice to treat yourself every so often!

Hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you treat yourself soon!

Thanks for reading!Xx 

What products I'll be taking to my skin consultation

Hey everyone!

I asked on snapchat would you like to see the skincare products I'll be taking to my skin consultation and a few of ye said ye would so here they are. As you may know I'll be getting a skin consultation and a facial tomorrow with Marcelle from Marcelle's Beauty Room Abbeyside and I cannot wait. Marcelle is going to have a look at these products and let me know which ones I should keep and which ones I simply do not need. Some of these products I use and some of them I haven't even opened. Some of these have been gifted to me and some I have bought myself so we have a nice mixture there.

I just thought I would photograph them all and just post them below. You might spot a favorite product of your own in there! I will have a blog post with photos and the whole load tomorrow evening letting you all know how I got on and which products I'll be saying goodbye to! Hope you enjoy. Let me know if you have these products or tried them out and if you loved or hated them!

So as you can see I have a heap of stuff! I get my skincare from Sam McCauleys, Cloud10Beauty, Kellys Chemist Abbeyside, Originalbeauty.ie and Dealz!

I will report back tomorrow on how it all goes and I will let you know what products will be gone from this list! I will again leave Marcelles contact details below should you ever want a skin consultation or treatment!

I just want to clarify that I am paying for everything myself and this is not an ad or a free treatment I'm getting. I honestly just want to sort out my skin and get a facial and I feel like I'm in very good hands with Marcelle.

Hope you enjoyed this post!

Thanks for reading!Xx

Kilkenny Clothing Haul!

Hey everyone!

Today I woke up feeling sick but the family had planned day out in Kilkenny so we got on with it! If you know me then you know I'm not big into shopping for clothes, more so into makeup obvs haha but whenever I do pick up a few bits, they're usually on the comfy side. Today's post is full of comfy clothes. Once my face is on, I could care less about my outfit. I went into every shop but just came out with the few bits from H&M and Penneys, hope you enjoy!

These few bits are from H&M..

And these few bits are from Penneys...

So yeah I didn't get too much but still managed to spend a small fortune! Plenty of comfy clothes and I bought the workout gear in the hopes it will motivate me to get up and out but I can't see it happening or lasting long haha!

Hope you enjoyed this quick post.

Thanks for reading!Xx

Why I will no longer be blogging about skincare..

Hey everyone!

Today is going to be a bit different but as you can tell from the title I will not be blogging about skincare products anymore. Well what I really mean is, I will not be trying and testing out new products all the time. Not as often as I used to and I just want to explain why.

In recent weeks my skin has been terrible. I do not have acne or any type of acne because I know it varies but nope I just have an oily t-zone and then normal skin everywhere else on my face. I'm sure many of you can relate to this.

But recently I have been having a lot of break outs. Typically I get the spots with the white heads on them, gross I know but I want you to understand my skin and what my problems are.

You see lads, I consider myself relatively new to blogging still and when you start out blogging & you enjoy it, you are going to post as much as possible and you are going to want to try out everything and give your opinion as quickly as you possibly can. That's how I felt anyway like that is how I operated.

Now lads, I'm not even qualified in makeup so I'm by no means a skincare expert. I haven't a notion about it and any tips or tricks that I have come across have mainly been from other beauty bloggers. Now that my skin has taken a turn for the worst, I don't know how to fix this so I certainly should not be recommending products to you to try out either because I just don't know. We all make mistakes and I want to take this time to apologize for ever recommending skincare products to my readers. Your skin is yours and every one is different. What works for me may not work for you and I know I can always throw that disclaimer into a blog post but I would still feel bad for doing that. I was in Marcelles Beauty Room, in Abbeyside, getting my nails done but Marcelle does more than nails, she is a skincare expert.

So as I got chatting to Marcelle she told me that my skin may be suffering from trying out all of these new products for review, which totally makes sense to me.

I know you all love my before and afters with my ability to cover my blemishes but as I said, you skin is yours. I want my skin to be perfect for myself. I would love nothing more than a clean. smooth canvas to apply my makeup on and I think you can all agree.

I once heard, you can have the most perfect smokey eye in the world but if you don't have a good base then forget about it. Which I think is true, like just imagine it? Now I know good lighting and good angles help but in person, in real life I want that flawless look. I want someone to see a photo of my art on my face online but then I want them to pass me in town and think: wow her skin/base really is that flawless.

So guys those are my reasons for not blogging about skincare or trying out new skincare products as often as I used to. Saying that. I will still blog about skincare but I will have to remind you that this is MY skin MY experience and what is suited to ME. As mentioned, I go to Marcelle's Beauty Room. Marcelle has kindly agreed to give me a skin consultation while I'm getting a facial from her. Marcelle had a look at my skin and knows what facial I need.

I would recommend Marcelle to anyone as she knows her stuff. Skincare is different for everyone and you just have to find what works best for you. In this case I need professional help so if you're like me I would urge you to go see someone. I'm sure Marcelle would not mind helping anyone out, I will leave all of her info below for you so if you're in the Abbeyside/Dungarvan area pop in or drop her a text.

I'm going on Tuesday to get my facial and skin consultation. I will be bringing my whole range of skincare products and Marcelle is going to tell me what to bin and what to keep. I know Marcelle uses Nia Natural products which is actually an Irish skincare brand and you all know how much I love to support Irish so that's a huge plus.

I will be blogging about this experience but I will constantly remind you that this is just for ME. I would seriously urge anyone to go see someone about their skin and what products they should be using because the skin is an organ, you might find that hard to believe but it's the largest organ in the body so you have to take care of it. And for us females our skin on our faces always seem to be a problem and something that we need to take care of.

So guys that is my update. I hope you can all understand where I'm coming from and agree with me. If not that's fine but this is just how it's going to be from now on. I will still try new products but I'm going to seek professional help and guidance first and then whenever I get the go ahead to try something new, I will. I'm sorry but I won't be blogging something every week about skincare like I used to. It's not fair on my own skin and it's not fair on you as a reader.

Just to clarify, I have never lied about what works for me. I do find products that I like but at the moment, nothing seems to clear up my skin. This is why I'm getting help with it. So I really hope you can understand and appreciate my point of view some bit.

I'm just going to leave some photos of my skin below and also a photo of Marcelle's treatments and prices. I'll be getting a facial which is €50 and I'm getting a consultation while getting this done. There will be before and after photos and all that good stuff to follow. So I'm excited for Tuesday to begin this skincare journey and I hope you don't mind following me on this journey.

Let me know your thoughts! I would love to hear what you think.

Thanks for reading!Xx