Exfoliation is your new best friend this Winter

Since my cleansing routine has stepped up a notch considering I had none! I've been looking into exfoliation and whether or not it's for me. The pros definitely out way to cons and have found some very interesting facts on why it's great for your skin. 

It improves skin texture,removes dry flaky skin, evens skin tone and it makes your skin smoother for makeup or tan application.

The big plus for me is that it's boosts collagen production to smooth away lines and wrinkles. Who doesn't want no wrinkles! Me me me me me...

I've always scrubbed my skin to an inch of his life with the next product to get rid of tan.

Now there is nothing wrong with using exfoliating gloves. I never saw them as part of my exfoliation routine just as cleaning my skin. I only ever used them for taking off tan but then Marissa Carter came into my life and created an amazing exfoliation tool and since then I've never looked back. Tough Stuff is a fantastic exfolator and I love it. It's a fantastic product and would highly recommend for anyone needing to take off tan or just as part of weekly exfoliating routine. A fab tip I've learned is use it on dry skin first to extreme exfoliation not for some but I love the feeling of deep exfoliation. It retails for €7.99 so won't break the bank!

Nip +Fab have a product for the lazy exfolator aka me! They are a glycolic exfoliating pad that smoothes the skin. It resurfaces and retextures the skin while the pores appear more refined and your complexion brighter. All Nip+Fab products are half price on boots.ie so these pads are only €8.99 normal retail is €17.99. I've just ordered some so will see how I get on and let you all know. 

My last thing is don't forget the lips. As we are definitely in the winter mode now our lips become extremely dry and chapped. The Body Shop have a fab Lipscuff which exfoliates and moisture in one. A top tip is mix brown sugar and honey to a paste and scrub lips enough to loosen dead skin. Apply lip balm after, I love Cicaplast lip by La Roche Posay it's extremely moisturising. 

I have a really long Santa list this year and I'm definitely going to try and take more care of my skin. I would love if you had any suggestions for me or what products you like or use. Leave a comment or message me on my facebook page My Life The Event 

Lots of Love

Patricia xx

Marissa Carter Masterclass in Bunratty Castle Hotel

Where do I begin...Well first of all to have an amazing event on my doorstep was fantastic. Dublin seems to be the hub of all things great,like fashion events or blogging events and for once I didn't have to travel. Marissa's Masterclass was held in  the beautiful Bunratty Castle Hotel in Clare just around 10 minutes from Limerick. I arrived to a queue of women waiting patiently for the doors to open!
We were greeted with a pink lemonade reception and could sit wherever we liked.
I had met up with Yonne and Aoibhinn fellow bloggers so we got three seats together.
The excitement began when we had some goodies on our seats courtesy of Cara pharmacy. I don't want to spoil it for people that might be going but let's just say you won't be disappointed with the haul you will receive!

The day began with Marissa giving her sister a makeover. Not that she needed it! She went through step by step tutorials of contouring, sun blushing, eye makeup tricks and lip application.

The above picture is a little tricky she showed us for doing a quick eye makeup. If you put sellotape on both sides of the eyes and apply your eye makeup as normal when you remove the tape you will have clean lines. She also recommended a few of her favourite products which included one of mine the Flomar Primer..The conversation flowed between her sister and herself and was very entertaining listening to their stories.
Marissa did some contouring using her instant bronze gel buy I'm still debating that one else as I know for a fact it would look like brown stains on my face!
Marissa had two other makeup artists doing demos and also a skincare specialist  showing the damage sun can do to your skin.
I was blown away by the amount to of spot prizes she was giving out. The one prize is would have loved was the pink dressing gowns as you all know if love my fluffy dressing gown aka the one I live in!
Michelle from Inglot did a tutorial using a few products i hadn't heard of. Duraline was one of them. It's  a waterless clear liquid that can intensify the colour of any powder and transform it into an easy to apply, water resistant liquid.

I was furiously writing all the products down as I'm trying my best to make more of an effort with my makeup regime. They had an extensive list of all of Marissa's favourite products on our table aswell which was great.
Between all the beauty talk and spot prizes they served us afternoon tea which was delicious. We had a mix of everything but my favourites were the meringue and goats cheese crostini.

I learned loads from the skincare specialist who showed us what sun damage can do to your skin and how I can take care of my skin  even going forward now. The key word was "double cleanse". Using a glycolic cleanser can help dissolve foundation and tighten pores. I went and bought two products that she recommended.

I'm trying these for a month or two and will review them after I've given them a good trial. Marissa did say that the Redermic is not for everyone and you would have to build up tolerance to the product as your skin can become irritated. So you would use it once a week for one month then twice a week for a month and so on. I loved this section as it was all about anti ageing and as I  am 37 I will try anything!
As my followers know I work in the pharmacy world and when I here a great product being recommended I whether excited. Marissa recommended Udos Oil as a supplement to help with skin. I love Udos Oil and we sell it by the bucket load!
I could go on  for days about all the different elements to the day but some people are going to the other  masterclasses so need to keep it short!
Danielle ended the day with a masterclass of makeup on Marissa herself. She showed us different techniques and loved the way she made her makeup look flawless.
Our day finished up with everyone getting their picture taken with Marissa but unfortunately as a blogger my phone went dead from  taking too many pictures earlier and didn't have a phone to take a picture.Huge sad face!!! Anyways always next time..
The goodie bag made up for it and the most fantastic day of learning and girlie chats.

I loved the day and hope Marissa comes back soon to our neck of the woods as her enthusiasm and friendliness was infectious. Thanks for a great day and best of luck Marissa with the rest of your Masterclasses.

Cocoa Brown Website
Bunratty Castle Hotel Facebook Page
Miss Daisy Facebook Page (Flowers Wall)
Blingleys (Our amazing glasses check out her page)

Follow me on Snapchat mylifetheevent or twitter @patricia_lowe78 for more great events coming up!
This weekend I will become a periscoper for the Coronas gig in King John's Castle Limerick and the Hermitage Green Live at the Big Top Limerick gig.
See you online
Patricia xx

Prep has begun for the big event...

So countdown has begun to my first ever black tie event! To say I'm nervous is an understatement. I have my dress sorted but struggling to match shoes with it. I'm no fashionista so I got help from Maeve in Love Cherish for my dress and after seeing her this evening on @expose I'm delighted to support the smaller boutique. I love dressing up and being pampered but can't always afford it. So these are my cheat products for in between salon treatments. Firstly skin preparation for tanning later on in the week.

I adore the Soap and Glory range. It leaves skin so soft and tan seems to like it aswell as my tan lasts so much longer when I use it. Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water is an amazing product. It not only cleanses skin,removes all eye makeup and lip, it also soothes the skin. My top tip is if you have a rash from using you razor, soak a pad and apply it to the skin. Yes it will sting but redness is reduced quicker with the soothing sensation.
Another great product is the sun-kissed tint body lotion with no streak long wear technology. This keeps my @cocoabrown tan lasting a lot longer. It is a wash off formula but when using with your own tan product makes it last a lot longer.

Another favourite of mine is Aveeno. There are so many varieties in the range but my favourite is the one with Shea butter. It's more nourishing to the skin. The price varies from place to place but as my followers know I work in a pharmacy and we stock a lot of these products. We have Aveeno at €3.99 at the moment which is a bargain!
It's my goal in the next coming months to up my beauty game as I'm not one for making the effort. Most mornings I would leave the house with only using a simple cleaning wipe! Most nights not even taking off my makeup. I would call myself a lazy beauty expert..I have signed up for a makeup course which I will blog about during the week so I'm hoping to become no.1 makeup artist in the world!
Make sure to follow me on Snapchat mylifetheevent as I will be sharing all my experiences on there.
Check out my facebook page also with great competitions on there.
Love you all and thanks for the support
Patricia xx

Inspired and Motivated

Today started as a busy day at work and like anyone that works in retail pharmacy the joys of nursing home week began for me! Thank God we have a dispensing area out the back but still a long couple of days were ahead of me. Then Valerie Murphy, one of the organisers of the Sparkle and Shine Ball came in to collect the 2 basket of goodies for the Sparkle and Shine Easter Ball  kindly donated by Corbally Pharmacy. The baskets are jam packed with Cocoa Brown goodies and our new makeup range Flomar. Valerie is a breath of fresh air and listening to someone so passionate about her work was uplifting and kept me going through the day. Must say I can't wait for the Ball and to meet other inspiring people.
Valerie is a mastectomy fit specialist and is based in askeaton could limerick. Check out her facebook page Valerie Breast Care. She also has a website www.postopclothes.com
A truly inspirational woman helping woman after breast cancer. So many local charities will be benefiting from The Sparkle and Shine Easter Ball please get involved either by donating spot prizes for the night or booking tickets for the event. It's looks to be a sell out so hurry while there are some left. So many exciting guests on the night and also Miriam O'Callaghan is MC for the night.

The most important part for me wasn't the fact that this will be my first event as a blogger and periscoper but as a woman, of course the DRESS! I took a trip down to the lovely boutique in charleville called Cherish. Maeve helped me pick a beautiful red dress that I absolutely love. So I will be the Lady in Red for the night. As I'm quite short I went for a shorter knee length dress which still looks stunning. Check out the facebook page as they have some beautiful out first for anyone with confirmation or communions coming up.Check out their page here Love Cherish Facebook Page

Here's to a busy few weeks with events in Dublin over Easter and the one I'm looking forward to most The Sparkle and Shine Easter Ball.
Don't forget to like ans share my facebook page to win tickets for Hermitage Green Live at the Big Top.
Patricia xx