Things people from the Midlands will understand

 The bog is life:

Summers in the Midlands often revolve around the bog and the Ga. The first sign of good weather means every member of the family is dragged out to cut, turn and foot the turf. This often lasts from morning to night with tae, hang shangwiches and bischuits being thrown out by the dozen.

 Being called a Bogger: 

Even if you are from the Midlands and have never had ventured onto the bog before (rare but it happens), you will be called a bogger by those who aren’t from the Midlands. You may live in the largest town in your county and have never stepped on a farm in your life but be prepared for bogger jokes when talking to anyone from Dublin, Cork, Limerick or any other large cities.

Being called a BIFFO:

It is nearly a given that being from the Midlands you will inevitably be called a BIFFO, even if you aren’t from Offaly. People just tend to throw Laois and Westmeath into consideration with the term.

Lads wearing checked shirts and baggy jeans to teen discos:

Cluiche discos are full to the brim with lads wearing checkered shirts, loose-fit jeans and statement Jack Jones belts. Smelling like an explosion at the Lynx factory is a must for any underage lad at a teen disco. This crew will start off with cider and progress to ale with age, still wearing the same checkered shirts and jeans.

Teen discos:

Ah, the humble teen disco. The Friday night once a month where a community centre in the backarse of nowhere is transformed into a hotspot for teens to try get the shift and take a million selfies. The teens may come and go, but cluiche discos will last forever.

The big trip up to Dublin to go shopping:

The trip up to Dublin is a well-prepared one. The day starts off at some ungodly hour in the morning with the father shouting ‘Are ye right?!’ before all the children are loaded into the car for the journey. After two hours in the ‘big shmoke’ the whole family are undoubtedly worn out and have to leave to beat the traffic.

Having fla’ accents:

If know someone from the Midlands, you have probably realised that t's and d's are dropped from words like there's no tomorrow and the 'th' may as well be forgotten about. For example, the popular brand of snack, Tayto, is pronounced as Tay-ho. 

No-one outside of Ireland knows of your county because you aren’t from Cork, Dublin or Galway:

There is no point of saying where you are from on foreign holidays unless you are from Cork, Dublin or Galway because chances are, they won’t have a clue what you’re talking about. The best thing is to shout ‘IRELAND’ and hope for a free pint out of it.

Some people inside of Ireland don’t know of your county:

This has happened before. See article on what it’s like being from Laois.

Top Five Beauty Bloggers to Follow

Hey guys! I, as much as the next girl, absolutely LOVE beauty vlogs! Whether it’s to finally learn how to smokey eye or to wallow in self-pity and envy over the collections of MAC on display, watching beauty vlogs are my favourite way to waste my life trolling the internet :D

So here it goes, this is my list of my five top beauty bloggers to follow!

1. Carli Bybel (the Beauty Bybel):

   

   Property of: Carli Bybel

I’m not sure how I stumbled across Carli Bybel but I am SO thrilled that I did. Besides the fact that she is gorgeous and I want to have her life, my appreciation for Carli’s posts is real. This is a beauty blogger that has made her way as a freelance artist and who always gives the viewers what they ask for. A must-view.

Copyright: Pinterest

2. Lauren Curtis:

This Aussie girl will give you every look you want- from casual to going out on the town or to a first date.  She also gives advice on fashion, hair, first impressions and life in general! And besides, who doesn’t love to listen to an Aussie accent?

3. Suzanne Jackson (SoSueMe):

   

   Property of: The Irish Mirror

Keeping it Irish here with my third choice! Suzanne Jackson is one of the ultimate beauty icons in Ireland and it’s easy to see why! With her forever flawless makeup and amazingly accessible fashion items (like from Dunne Stores!), Sue is onto a winner here. Besides, in the midst of bloggers telling us about makeup only available in the US, it is so refreshing to know that whatever Sue wears can be got over here... Score!

Property of: Liz Meghan

4. Liz Meghan (iheartmakeup92):

Liz is definitely a MUA icon in my eyes. Not one to shy away from the fact that she has acne, Liz has again and again given so many helpful tips and advice on how she deals with it and she looks AMAZING even still! I’ve grown up with acne and feel very unconfident about my skin and even when I feel my spots can’t get any worse Liz is only a click away and provides a glimmer of home that way.

5. Chloe Boucher:

   

   Property of: http://chloeboucher.weebly.com/

Another Irish beauty, this Dublin girl is relatively new to the vlogging scene and is already taking it by storm! With her flawless skin and trademark brown smokey eye, Chloe is set to make it big in years to come.

Well that’s all from me! If you have any comments or questions, or anyone you feel should be added to the list, don’t hesitate in letting me know!

Until next time,

lots of love,

Siun X

Beauty through the ages

THE concept of what beauty is has always intrigued me. We have seen many different faces of beauty throughout the ages and I have decided to conduct a short list of what was considered to be the height of beauty in that particular time period.

1920s: 

Mary pickford

The roaring ‘20s caused a roaring makeup industry. Cosmetic companies like Max Factor and Maybelline were on the rise and new makeup styles also emerged. It became popular for women to wear lipstick in hues of red and plum. They also drew their lips on accentuating their cupid’s bows and creating a strong pouted look. Pale skin was still in so powder was still a must-have. Women began to shave their eyebrows and draw a thin line in place of them using an eyebrow pencil.

Olivia de Havilland

1930s:

1930s makeup had a more nature look. Mascara was now a necessity in a make-up kit. Eyeliner was traced from the tear duct with an upturned effect. Contouring also became popular as women tried to achieve a perfectly symmetrical face.

Ava gardner

1940s:

Hollywood glamour was starting to make huge waves. Red lipstick burst onto the scene and lips were drawn on slightly over the natural lip line to give a fuller shape. Contouring remained popular and women used it to make their noses appear smaller and to make their cheekbones to appear higher.

Marilyn Monroe

1950s:

The 1950s meant all things Marilyn Monroe- winged eyeliner, different shades of red lipstick, bronzer and short, permed, blonde hair. The 1950s essentially took off from the 1940s in terms of makeup styles.

1960s:

Twiggy

In the 1960s everything about makeup changed. Long and thick upper and lower lashes became the trend (think of style icons like Twiggy).  False eyelashes were also used to achieve this. Pale lips were created by applying either pale pink lipstick or foundation to the lips.

1970s:

Farrah Fawcett

The natural look came back in the ‘70s with only minimalistic foundation and bronzer used to create a sweeping effect on the cheeks.

1980s:

The 1980s were described as the disco era not only in music but also in makeup. Bright, neon colours, electric blues and pinks were used as eyeshadow with a bright pink blusher being used on the cheeks.

1990s:

‘Grunge’ looks were in fashion for most of the 1990s, which meant that women wore heavy, smokey eye makeup with blacks and greys, little or no blush and pale lipstick shades. This effectively became known as ‘heroine chic’.

Kate Moss

Profile on Irish dancer Jean Kennedy

From the outside, Jean Kennedy seems like an ordinary teenage girl, but the medals and accolades on the walls of her sitting room tell a different story. As I arrive, Jean is sitting on the couch with her boyfriend and immediately offers to make tea. As she puts the kettle on we chat about normal teenage things; friends, college (Jean is doing Biology and PE teaching in DCU), family, boyfriends- it almost seems hard to believe that a mere two weeks ago Jean placed third in the Irish dancing World Championships. Immediately it becomes evident that Irish dancing has always played a huge part in her life.

Named after Riverdance legend Jean Butler, Jean started her dancing career at the age of four and has never looked back. Not one to rest of her accomplishments, Jean also has a black belt in karate and has participated in karate championships all over the world, from Scotland to Japan. So how does she manage to do it all, and do it all so well?

“Preparing for a huge championship involves so much more than just going to dance classes every week,” Jean says. “I lose myself and could spend three hours in the studio just focusing on one dance. So how does she prepare for such big competitions? “Every year my teachers at Lynam (Jean’s dance school) help me choreograph new steps to perform at the worlds. Then once you’ve learnt the steps, you concentrate on perfecting them, digesting every move, examining the biomechanics of the dance and altering your moves to land the double spin, jump an inch higher and get an extra tap in per second. This is the part of preparation I enjoy most.”

“Once the technique is ready, it’s time to look good. The judges and audience want to see a performance. It is the very same situation in kata (karate displays). They want to look up on stage and see someone enjoying themselves. A smile, an attitude, our own individual style.”

“You’re mentally preparing for those few but crucial minutes on stage to show off what you have spent years preparing for.”

Jean’s eyes immediately light up as she talks about her dancing and it is clear that it remains as important to her as it has since the day she started.

But what about her social life? Does performing at such a high level not stop her from doing other things? “A little, but to be honest I like it that way. If you want your body to perform to its maximum ability and you care about the competitions you’re not going to be out partying while training.”

“My social life is based around my dancing friends because we are together so often and share the same interests, although we don’t go out coming up to worlds or regionals we sure make up for it afterwards and have a dancers night out to celebrate!”

The pressure of performing at a world-class standard in either dancing or karate must take its toll, but Jean handles it with incredible ease. When I ask her this Jean sips on her tea and says, “I love looking at old photos related to my sport. It reminds me of why I’m still at it and makes me realise how far I’ve come. I’d watch Youtube clips of World Karate Championships or stalk some famous dancer on Facebook so I can aspire to what I could become if I keep improving.”

Jean’s Irish dancing teacher Carmel Manton-Kinsella puts Jean’s success down towards her attitude and determination. “Jean has outstanding natural ability-but it is her attitude that sets her apart. She takes criticism on the chin and comes back the next day working harder on it than ever before.”

Clearly driven by her goals, I ask Jean has she any words of advice for other young people on how to achieve their goals. “I think young people spend so much time analysing other people’s lives and comparing it to their own on Facebook Instagram etc. When you’re young and don’t have too many responsibilities you should make the most of it… Focus on yourself, try to build on your character to be a nicer person.”

“Remember your family, coaches and close friends will help you to reach your goals but 99% of the work is up to you!

“Life is a journey to allow you to create the greatest version of yourself, success is so self-rewarding and working hard to achieve these goals makes them worth every second.”

Jean flashes one of those world-championship winning smiles and says, “The next time you feel like you’re not progressing or moving forward just think of the great words of Leslie Chow, ‘Oh you’re having a bad day? … But did you die?’”

She is truly an inspirational young role model.