Beauty Chamber UK

Like many other bloggers, I'm always on the lookout for websites stocking beauty products which aren't readily available on the high street. I saw a few posts written about the Koren Zander brush shampoo and I went over to beautychamber.co.uk to check it out as it got such great reviews. Whilst browsing I was (way too) excited to see the Real Techniques version of the beauty blender also on the website. Anything Real Techniques release has to be mine so I placed an order for these 2 items. What I didn't expect was such a brilliant delivery time and customer service. I placed my order Thursday morning and received it less than 24hours later, well packaged and with the added extra of a Sigma E05 eyeliner brush. I've been wanting to try Sigma brushes forever and this may be the start of a dangerous obsession. I haven't used any of these items yet, but the brush shampoo in Pearberry (£8.50)smells amazing and I cant wait to try the sponge(£4.99)and the brush (cheeky freebie). I'm delighted with the service I received and would highly recommend the website. Have you got any other website recommendations? 

Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

Bloglovin

I am very behind with this as I am a complete technophobe but, You can now follow me on Bloglovin! Yay

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4091588/?claim=93pgbggtws6">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> 

❤ Love Steph ❤

Payday Purchases/First Impressions

Why does payday take so long to come around? And why does it take such a short time to spend ones earnings? Eugh! 

Anyway, I wanted to post a "payday haul" and show you why my wages never last a week never mind a month. Stila are my favourite brand for eyeshadow. Ever. If you haven't tried them I would highly recommend that you do-their eyeshadows are very soft, highly pigmented and so easy to blend. I bought the trio in "Gilded" which has a bronze with gold glitter, a midtone brown with gold glitter and a dark shimmery champagne. <3 LOVE <3

Rimmel were 3 for 2 in Boots so I picked up one of their new Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Paints in Rich Russet-it's a beautiful bronzed brown liquid eyeshadow which once set doesn't budge. I also got a lipgloss from the new Stay Glossy 3D range,a gorgeous coral with subtle gold shimmer called "lights,camera,action", and the new Scandaleyes Precision micro eyeliner in black. This has the smallest nib ive ever seen so I'm hoping it might help me perfect a winged liner.

In Superdrug I wanted a strengthening nail product as my nails are so weak and thin and found the Sally Hansen Maximum Growth polish. I really hope this works. At the till I spied the much hyped Maybelline Babylips-I impulsively pick up the menthol one and so far so good-it's got a nice scent and is moisturising on the lips and leaves a glossy sheen too.

Finally I have wanted Illamasqua's pigment in "Beguile" for the longest time- I picked this up for £5 with free delivery in their online sale(it's usually over £15) and I'm so glad I did. I've never seen anything more pretty or sparkly-it makes me happy :) I've included swatches below in the order the products were photographed. Do you have any of these products? I'm so excited to use them over the next few weeks to see if they live up to my expectations.

Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

Bucket List

So I was tagged by the lovely Tiffany (Tiffany-talks.blogspot.co.uk) to compile my bucket list. Believe it or not, I've never really thought about this before. I live each day as it comes and whilst there are things I want to experience and accomplish I'm not really a dreamer, more of a realist. However, Tiffany made me think about the things I do want to do in my lifetime...

1. Get married!

I have been with my fiancé for 11 years now and between us we are part of a rather sizeable family, and we also have 3 children of our own. I don't want a massive expensive wedding but I would like to be able to afford to do it with all the important people in our lives. I feel like sometimes people judge me for not being married and having babies out of wedlock, so a wedding is high on my bucket list.

2. White sand and blue water

I want to travel somewhere out of the ordinary with beautiful white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters.

3. Own a house

I'm very fortunate to have a man who can literally turn his hand to anything and do it well, so I hope that one day not only will we own our own home, but that we will design and build it too (he will build it, I will watch :-D)

4. Run a marathon

I would love to be able to say I could run for 26 miles, and raise some money for charity at the same time.

5. Go to Wimbledon

For as long as I can remember I have loved tennis, and especially Wimbledon. Apart from Christmas it's my absolute favourite time of the year so to go and watch it would be a dream come true.

6. Makeup Course

It's scary how much I love makeup, so I would love to do a practical course, even just to improve my own skills and spend time with like-minded people.

7. France

I studied French for 8 years between school and uni and absolutely loved it. I was fluent but almost 10 years later am more than a little rusty. I've never been to France  but I'd love to go over for a few months and live eat and breathe the culture.

What's on your bucket list? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

EOTD-Peach/Purple

I haven't properly played with or worn eyeshadow in ages which is most unlike me. It's my favourite part of doing my makeup. So today, whilst it was all thundery and raining outside I decided to attempt what for me would be a going-out look. I'm not brave enough to wear this in the day!! 

I dont have any special tips or techniques as I'm far from a pro. I used Mac Painterly paint pot as a base to even out my eyelid and make the eyeshadow last all day without creasing. I then dusted a tiny amount of my face powder (Revlon Nearly Naked) over the top as I find it can make blending eyeshadows easier over this rather than just the base alone if its not been set. I then used Mac Expensive Pink(a light shimmery peachy pink with gold flecks)from my tear ducts to halfway across the lid, and then applied Mac Summer Plum(a matte medium purple) to the outer half of my eyelid. I overlapped the two colours in the middle to help them blend. I used a fluffy brush and swept it over the edges to soften the colours. Then I repeated what I did to the top lid on the bottom beneath the lash line, making sure to join the purple on the top and bottom on the outer edge. The mascara i used was Maybelline define a lash waterproof in black(amazing).I never wear colours like this but I think I would wear this out. For night time I'd probably add a dark purple eyeliner on the waterline-Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner pencil in blackberry would be perfect. And some lashes. 

Would you wear something like this? I think these colours would look even better on green eyes.

Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

NOTD-Turquoise Sparkle

I am awful at painting nails-I previously confessed this in my "beauty things I suck at" post. But God loves a trier! Even though the weather has been decidedly unsummer-like, I've loved wearing bright colours on my nails, and when I want to do this I always reach for Barry M nail polishes-they are cheap but brilliant quality. 

For these sparkly turquoise nails, I applied the Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Guava-this is a recently released colour, it is opaque in one coat and dries super quick. On top I applied two coats of the Nail Paint in Aqua Glitter. These colours are an exact match and the result was a shimmery sparkly bright turquoise delight. It reminds me of swimming pools and blue skies on holiday. It's also foolproof-if I can do this anyone can. What colours have you been wearing on your nails for summer? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

Max Factor Colour Elixir Giant Pen Stick

Nearly every makeup brand has brought out some kind of twisty uppy lip pencil product, and I myself have reviewed a couple, but I haven't read much about Max Factors offering. These are called Colour Elixir Giant Pen Sticks, they were released a good few months ago and they caught my eye on a display in Boots. 

There were a gorgeous range of shades available to choose from, including a bright pink, a red and a deeper berry colour but as I'm still holding out hope that we get some kind of summer, I opted for the shade "Subtle Coral". The reason I was drawn to these was because when I swatched them they had a beautiful hi shine finish-like a pigmented gloss in pencil form. However, the product on the lips doesn't have that sticky feeling some glosses have, and it feels quite moisturising. I love the color of this, which the shade name describes perfectly-it's a gorgeous natural coral which, in my opinion, absolutely anyone will suit. I find orange/coral a hard shade to get right on the lips-some make your teeth look yellow, and some need a tan to be worn without looking like your ill! This pencil doesn't twist up so it needs to be sharpened. The lasting power without eating or drinking anything is about 2 hours. But I wouldn't really expect anything more from a glossy moisturising finish so this doesn't bother me personally but worth keeping in mind if you're looking for something long lasting. I think this is going to be my favourite lip product this summer and I really would recommend the Max Factor Colour Elixirs-I'd definitely love to get some more colours. Have you tried these? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

How I store my makeup

I decided to share how I store my makeup in a post today-it's not perfect and I have issues keeping my kids grubby little mitts off my goodies so I am intending on getting a more sturdy set of drawers in the near future from Ikea to match my malm dresser. But for now this is it.

As I mentioned, I use the malm desk from ikea as my dresser, on top of which are my brushes, stored in a couple of pen/stationery holders. These are a shiny black quilted texture and were a bargain at £2.99 each from Home Bargains. My lipsticks stay in acrylic holders which I got from eBay for £3.49 each, these are so handy as I can keep each brand stored together, or colour co-ordinate if I want, and it means with them all on display I don't forget about things I've bought.

On my windowsill beside the desk I keep my Sleek and MUA eyeshadow palettes in an old glossy box and my MAC and Stila palettes are slotted alongside.

Directly under the dresser is a small set of bathroom storage drawers which holds the bulk of my stash. I bought this a couple of years ago from Argos, and the dividers in some of the drawers I inserted myself-they're made of fabric and are wardrobe organisers from Ikea. In the top drawer I keep base products-foundation, concealer, powder, highlighters and bronzers. The separated section is all blush.

In the second drawer I keep lip pencils, with the divider holding lip glosses.

The third drawer is home to eye pencils, false lashes, liquid and gel liners and spare mascara.

The bottom drawer and my favourite one is for all my loose eyeshadows, smaller palettes, pigments and eyeshadow bases.

How do you store your makeup? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

FOTD

I always delay doing these posts because I hate taking pictures of myself, I am rubbish at said pictures as you shall see below, and I make excuses not to (I had caterpillar eyebrows, an invisible blemish etc etc). However today it's sunny so I thought the light would maybe help me in my worse than amateur photography.

I've bought some new products recently so I gave them a whirl and here's the end result. I used:

Revlon Colourstay in Buff

Collection Lasting Perfection concealer (02)

Revlon Nearly Naked Powder in Light

MUA Brow Kit

No.7 Lash and Brow Fixer

Dainty Doll Blush (money talks) as contour

No.7 Blush in Coral Flush

Stila "In the Light" Eyeshadow palette-bare, kitten and sunset-and the brown pencil it comes with to line my top lash line.

Rimmel Scandaleyes liner in bronze for lower lash line

Maybelline the Falsies flared mascara

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 02 Apricot Shimmer

And that's it! Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

How I Remove My Makeup

I love applying and wearing makeup but when the day is over I also really look forward to taking it off. I thought I'd share what I use to get all makeup products off my face before I cleanse at night.

I, like a lot of other bloggers, raced to get Elle magazine this month to get my sample of Benefits They're Real mascara, and I was aware before using this that it is known for being a pain in the arse to remove. I've been using No.7 Eye makeup remover to do this-it's hypoallergenic and suitable for all skin types. You can see from the picture below that mine is almost all gone, so the double layer isn't visible here, but it does have two layers which you shake to mix before use. This produces an oil-based liquid which I put on a cotton pad and swipe across my eyes. This stuff is amazing, one swipe usually takes all my eye makeup off straight away, but with waterproof mascara I leave the cotton pad on my eye to break down the product before I swipe. I use one pad on each eye, front and back, and eye makeup is gone. Magic! This is available at Boots and online and is £8.50

For the rest of my face I used to use makeup remover wipes but lots of them sting my skin, or dry it out so I wanted to try something gentler. I stumbled across the Loreal Skin Perfection 3in1 Purifying Micellar Solution in Asda, it was on offer for £3 so I picked it up and I'm so glad I did. I apply to a cotton pad, sweep across my face and all traces of makeup are gone. This leaves my skin feeling squeaky clean and soft, it doesn't burn or sting and it's much more cost effective than buying pack after pack of makeup remover wipes. After these two steps I'm ready to cleanse in the shower/bath.

How do you remove your makeup?

Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

What's in my travel makeup bag?

I rarely travel from home, but had to get up at 6am today to catch a train for an induction day for my new job. Usually I do makeup at home but to save time I brought it with me as the train journey was lonnngggg. Hopefully I didn't horrify too many people pre-makeup! I thought I'd post about what products I brought-these are the things that work, last all day and I know I can trust. I didn't wear eyeshadow today but if I had wanted to I would've brought my Urban Decay Naked2 pallette.
To prep my skin I brought Nivea Oil Free Moisturising Day Cream, which does what it says on the tin, and helps to mattify as its oil free and geared towards combination skin. I then applied Benefit Porefessional as a primer to fill in pores and help my foundation last longer. My base consisted of Revlon Colourstay foundation and concealer and Nearly Naked powder-these three work really well together. To contour I used Dainty Doll blush in Money Talks, and for blush I used My Girl also from Dainty Doll. Like a gazillion other bloggers I got mine super cheap from fragrancedirect.co.uk and I'm really impressed with the pigmentation and lasting power of these. I filled my brows in with MUA brow kit, then applied painterly paint pot from MAC on my eyelids just to even out any redness and discolouration there. For mascara I brought Loreal Telescopic Infinite Length mascara. And that was it, I didn't put anything other than a lip balm on my lips. My brushes are pictured below and are a mixture of Real Techniques, Crownbrush and Royal and Langnickel. This was as basic as I get with makeup but I hope it helps others to see what products I love and what works for me. Do you use any of these? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

Revlon Colourstay Concealer

I always wondered why my favourite Revlon Colourstay foundation didn't have a trusty concealer sidekick-well it does now! The Colourstay concealer is a new product, I spied it for the first time in Boots a couple of weeks ago and picked it up in 02 Light. I use the shade "Buff" in the foundation and was pleased when this perfectly matched it.
I've been using this the last few days in favour of the Collection lasting perfection concealer, and this may shock people(!) but I actually prefer it.
I find that any concealer I've tried in the past has a tendency to settle into that pesky crease under my eye during the day, but this really doesn't. It's got a more liquid consistency than the Collection concealer, but the coverage is as good-it covers the darkness under my eyes and it lasts from when I put it on til I take my makeup off at night. I apply mine using either the small end of a beauty blender or my Real Techniques deluxe crease brush. It blends really easily into the skin and then I set it with Revlon Nearly Naked powder. So now my whole base is Revlon-this pleases me as I'm a bit OCD matchy-matchy like that.
I can't tell you what this is like for concealing blemishes as I don't often get many but I'm really pleased I found this gem and will be using it from now on.
This costs £6.99 from Boots- they also have a 3 for 2 offer on Revlon at the minute.
Have you tried/will you be trying this concealer? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

MUA Lipstick Trio in Scarlet

Apologies for yet another post on a lip product, but this is a new release from MUA and I thought I'd share my first impressions. I picked this up as I had a few points on my Superdrug beauty card, but it retails for £2.50 from Superdrug or www.muastore.co.uk
As this is described as a lipstick trio I was excited to get it, I find it really hard to finish a full tube of lipstick as I have so many...I definitely have issues. However, I thought as this trio has three smaller pots itd be nice to travel with as well as giving 3 colour options. The packaging isn't the most sturdy but this is to be expected for the price you pay. Also the applicator is the same sponge tip as you get in many eyeshadow compacts, which is a tad confusing, I don't know why it's even included for lip products.
I haven't worn these colours yet, I've only swatched them. My trio is in the shade scarlet, although there's not a red in sight, what you get are three glossy colours- a pink, a darker pink and a very pale pink. I would describe these more as tinted lip balms or glosses, there's definitely not enough pigment for these to warrant the title "lipstick trio". That being said, there's still some payoff and if you're afraid of darker colours and getting them everywhere these are perfect. Because they are more balm/gloss-like they can easily be applied with your fingers on the go. I will chuck this in my handbag for top ups during the day or to apply over lipstick, so whilst the payoff isn't as strong as I had expected I will still use this little pallette. Have you tried these? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

Revlon Colourstay Ultimate Suede Lipstick.

I'm back from my Easter holidays!! ;) I've noticed recently that Revlon have been bringing sooo many new products out, it's hard to keep up. It seems like every time I pass the stand there's a gazillion new products calling to me.(makeup talks to me. Yes it does yes it does yes it does).
One of the new products I wanted to pick up was the new Ultimate Suede lipstick, mainly because it forms part of their Colourstay line, which also contains my very favourite foundation. I opted for 010 Womenswear, which is a natural pink colour, and was £8.99 from Boots or Superdrug. These are meant to be long-wear, semi-matte(suede) lipsticks with added moisturising ingredients so I was excited to get my hands on one.
I really like the sturdy packaging, the lid is very secure and I also like that u can see the lipstick colour through the plastic.
I've worn this a few times now, and it pretty much delivers what it promises. The formula is very creamy and smooth to apply, and after about 10 mins it gets a little bit sticky, which I assume is what allows it to stay on the lips so well. This doesn't bother me but might irritate people who want to forget they're wearing a lip colour. I applied this in the morning and the colour lasted through 3 drinks and 2 meals before it started to fade a little. It does feel more moisturising than a matte lipstick, and isnt drying at all. At this point I reapplied but at a stretch you could get away without doing so, as I find the colour leaves a bit of a stain on the lips. The only odd thing I notice with the lipstick is that when I apply it I get a natural pink colour which gradually darkens a little bit over time. But maybe this is just me?!
Overall, this is nice and I would recommend it, however I don't love it enough to rush out and purchase any others...one last point to note is that there isnt a massive range of colours to choose from. Have you tried these?
Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

Weight Loss

Today I'm writing a different kind of thing, away from beauty and makeup. This time last year I was bigger. 3 and a half stone bigger. I had had 3 children, youngest was 8 months. I had moved far away from my home and family, and so had lost my support network and my job. I was a bit down to say the least (not depressed). I had made 2( just 2 ) friends in my new home and I just didn't know what to focus on other than my children and school runs. I had up to this point always been unhappy with my weight but being in this new place by myself, even after having a baby and initially losing weight I eventually ended up heavier than ever before. So when my friend Steph(no.2) suggested joining Slimming World I jumped on that shit!! We started going to the gym 4/5 days a week. Between this and the slimming world plan I started to feel much more in control of my life. It's taken over a year but I am much more happy, confident and most importantly fitter. The weight loss is an extra special by-product. I don't want use this post to advise or inspire anyone to lose weight, just wanted to share the ways I've made my quality of life a bit better. For me it took being a bit smaller to make me happy, but I truly admire anyone who is happy no matter what their size. I think that fitness and health are the most important thing, but for me, losing a bit of weight has helped me in feeling less like the elephant in the room. I wouldn't have started blogging had I not embarked on a journey of change. I have shared a picture below of the years difference and I think in the after picture (I'm on the right) you can see much more self confidence in my face. Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

Crown Brushes

I have heard LOADS about Crown Brushes from twitter, bloggers, celebs and makeup artists all seem to rave about them so I had a look on their website (crownbrush.co.uk) and placed a naughty order last week. The brushes and prices I got were
C139 Stiff Tapered Crease £3.09
This is similar to MAC 224 and you can never have enough crease brushes right? I have used this one and it blends shadow really well.
C217 Bent Liner £2.79
I haven't use this brush yet but I've never had a bent liner brush before and I figure anything that can help me with winged liner is a must have. The tip is really fine on this brush so I look forward to trying it.
C433 Pro Blending Fluff £6.09
This is crowns dupe for a MAC 217, it's one of their best sellers and its the one I was most excited to get. It's very soft and does the job perfectly, at a third of the cost of the MAC brush.
The final three brushes I got are all from the recently released infinity range.
C454 Angle Contouring £4.99
C456 Pointed Blender £5.99
C457 Round Blender £4.99
These brushes are beautiful! So soft, brilliant for concealer, applying eyeshadow base, cream blush, highlight, the list goes on. I'm definitely going to be getting the others from the Infinity range .
I ordered these on a Friday evening and they came on Tuesday, really well packaged and all for under £30. I can't believe the amazing quality of these brushes for the price and I would highly recommend checking their website! Do you have any favourites from crown brush?
Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

NEW MUA Power Pout Intense Tint and Balm

I do love my Revlon version of these but at £7/8 they are pricey if you want them all! So when I saw the MUA Power Pouts had been released last week I ordered a couple online and they came this morning. I haven't tested wear time or anything yet but thought I do a kind of first impressions post.
MUA Power Pout Intense Tint and Balm are £3 each, and the packaging is identical to the Revlon and Clinique versions. It doesn't feel flimsy and the cap secures tightly so I won't be afraid to just throw one in my handbag. I bought shades "Irreplaceable" and "Broken Hearted" which are both pink shades.
Like the Revlon kissable balm stains these have a nice minty scent which disappears after application. The product screws up so no need to sharpen. The colours I have are nicely pigmented but I wouldn't use the word intense as the name suggests, however after trying to wash the swatches off my hand there was a stain left behind. All in all I'm glad I picked them up, £3 is a good price point for these and I look forward to wearing them.
Do you like the look of these? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

Superdrug Goodies

It's Sunday, it's snowing and I had to venture out to the butchers so I of course had to go to Superdrug for a nosy! Here's what I picked up
GOSH Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Renaissance Gold
This is a new shade released a couple of weeks ago and once I saw it swatched online, I wanted it. It's a brighter gold pencil than my favourite MAC powersurge and it's very creamy and soft to use.

Barry M Gel Eyeliner in Champagne.
I've never seen a gel liner this colour before, again it's a new shade released and comes with a handy brush in the lid. It's more like a platinum silvery pink colour to me than champagne but I love it!

NYC Appleicious Glossy Lip Balm in Appleicious Pink
Another new release, this has good colour payoff considering its a lip balm, and it smells like apple flavoured Hubba Bubba mmmmm!
The Gosh pencil was £4.99, Barry M liner was £4.49 and the NYC balm was £2.49, both liners claim to be waterproof and though I've not used them yet they refused to budge when I tried to wash the swatches off!
Have you tried any of these? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

Would you rather...?(beauty edition) TAG

I tag you reading! :)
Would you rather.....
1. Only be able to wear eye makeup or face makeup?
This question makes me sad, I heart all makeup! But as I don't have bad skin and feel naked without eye makeup ill have to go with only being able do my eyes.

2. Cut off all your hair or never cut your hair?
I am a bit crap with my hair and more often than not shove it up in a ponytail, however I do appreciate its presence, and definitely lack the cheekbones required to rock baldy chic, so I'd never cut my hair.

3. Always have to wear clothes either too big or too small?
Clothes that are too small are my pet peeve. If I put something on that doesn't fit I have to get it off immediately, it makes me feel all hot and sweaty and flustered. Bigger clothes all the way.

4. Only buy clothes or makeup if you were given £1000?
Me and makeup started being such good friends because it never let me down. When I struggled with my weight I hated clothes shopping, but at least makeup always fit and I wasn't excluded from any kind of makeup because of my size. Even now that I'm almost at the weight I want to be I don't love clothes shopping so I'd buy my old faithful, makeup!

5. Wear lipstick as eyeliner or eyeliner as lipstick?
Even the thought of the sticky lipstick on my eyes make me shudder. Eyeliner as lipstick all the way.

6. Wear MC Hammer (harem) pants or cycling shorts?
Due to the fact I've never ever seen anyone look good in a pair of cycling shorts ill stick with the MC Hammer pants.

7. Never be able to fill in your eyebrows or only use a sharpie marker to fill them in?
I don't want black marker eyebrows so maybe I'd never fill them in just make sure they were nicely shaped and dyed??? Is that cheating?

8. Never pluck your eyebrows or never shave your legs?
This one is hard! But as my eyebrows are on show a hell of a lot more than my legs I'd rather keep them tidy so I'd never shave my legs. Be extra cosy in the winter with the leg fuzz.

9. Never shop at MAC or only shop at MAC?
No brainer, I'd only shop at MAC.

10. Only wear 1 shade of eyeshadow or 1 shade of lipstick for the rest of your life?
The thought of only 1 shade of eyeshadow forevermore makes me want to cry. If you hadn't noticed that's where I spend all my time when I'm doing my makeup, and you can do so much with different colours and textures. I'd stick to nude pink lips forever and always change my eyeshadows.

11. Wear winter clothes in summer or summer clothes in winter?
I think I'd rather be too cold than too hot so I'd wear summer clothes in winter and never leave my house!

12. Never be able to paint your nails again or never wear lipgloss again?
I'd give up lipgloss(there's always lipstick) and be able to paint my nails.

Did you agree with some or any of my answers? Thanks for reading, Love Steph xxx

My Irish habits

So I am Irish as you may know, and with it being St.Patricks day tomorrow I thought I'd compile a list of things which are Irish quirks,or sayings or characteristics that have been pointed out to me by friends who are not Irish! In other words these are the things non Irish people take the piss out of me for.
1. My ability to drink.
I will never ever be the first to go to bed, I will never ever tell you to go home because I'm tired when having a few drinks, indeed if you do try to leave before I deem the night over I will try to imprison you in my house til I'm quite finished :))
2. Saying whenever instead of when.
This has been pointed out to me over and over again that I overuse the word "whenever" I.e "whenever I was younger" instead of "when I was younger" I don't know who is grammatically correct in these situations but because tomorrow is Paddys Day lets just say its me.
3. Potatoes
I do like potatoes, and in the past have been greeted with a high pitched "pertatoes" in a dodgy Irish accent. However I know there are other food groups too :)
4. My accent
This amuses my friends endlessly. I think they're jealous.
5. Scallions
A scallion is a spring onion. Scallion is a nicer shorter word and it's less confusing. Spring onion implies there should be an onion for all seasons.
6. Supper
Supper seems to be an Irish thing. It's like breakfast, but in the evening before you go to bed, in case your tummy isn't filled from the many potato-based meals during the day. Supper is administered particularly by grannies and great aunts and if not eaten they will be mortally offended. Think Mrs Doyle from Father Ted with the tea.
7. My love of the colour green
As I no longer live on the Emerald Isle, I like to stay true to my roots by having an obsession with the colour green.
8. More strange foods
Apparently non-Irish folks have never had the pleasure of fadge(potato bread), soda bread, Denny ham, Coleraine cheddar, Nambarrie tea bags, or Tayto cheese and onion. When I talk of these things I'm met by blank states and confused faces. IT'S NOT ME THAT'S WIERD IT'S YOU IF YOU'VE NEVER TRIED THESE THINGS.
This post is meant to be tongue in cheek and should not offend anyone. If it does ill set my leprechaun on you :)
I hope everyone has a brilliant St.Patricks Day! Thank you for reading, Love Steph xxx