I'll be there for you

We all have different kinds of friends in our lives, some from childhood (if we are lucky), others we have met through work, social media, hobbies, even friends of friends. Some we have known for a long time and then there are others that have come and gone. As we get older our lives and personalities change and so do that of our friends, sadly we drift apart from some that were once our closest, mostly due to circumstance, making way for the ones that are here to stay.  

I've been friends now with my best friend for over 8 years, we didn't start off like this, we were more work acquaintances, we socialised as part of a group for many years, but I wouldn't say that we're very close. In fact we even fell out for some time, which is sad now when I think about the circumstances surrounding it. However it made us stronger and we actually became the best of friends from it. We have a mutual love of socialising, prosecco, all things girly, lazy Sundays and straight up having the lols. If someone was to listen to one of our conversations, they would have a right ould laugh, because we talk complete and utter nonsense most of the time. Dreams versus reality are often blured when we get together, because we come up with the most ridiculous ideas For example, we have always said for my hen we would have a "boats and hoes" cruise up the Shannon, because we both love Step Brothers the movie. When we went to New York on holidays, we decided that we would open up our own bar called "who-are's" (basically whores said in an Irish slang), a traditional Irish bar, with middle aged bar women wearing blue eye shadow and push up bras. Oh we had the whole thing planned, all written out on a napkin, if we win the lotto, watch this space :) Alot of it is silly but sometimes you need silly in your life, and we for sure don't take ourselves too serious. But aside from all the fun, I honestly couldn't function without this girl in my life. She has seen me in every emotion possible, angry, upset, happy, at my worst, and at my best. She is not only my friend, she is my family. 

It good to have positive people surrounding you but equally as important to have people that are also very honest with you. Friends share huge moments of your life, they also know alot of your deepest, darkest thoughts and fears. For me I know that I can be 100% myself around my best friend without having to second guess what I say, or how I act. Even when I know I'm being totally ridiculous about something she knows exactly how to make me see the light without making me feel like I'm a terrible person. We all have our "moments" and when we do it's important to have someone to keep us grounded. 

Someone once said to me, "if you were stuck at the side of the road, who would you call?" Think about it, I bet there isn't that many people you could rely on. But I know that this girl would drive me to the moon and back if I needed her to.

Make sure that the important people in your life feel, and know just how important they are.

With luv to my bestie Emma xx 

Fabulous Friday (23rd of Oct)

The weekend is finally here, and to make it even better, its a Bank Holiday too. I'm very excited to introduce you all to this week's Ms Fabulous Friday. This girl will give you all the make up inspiration you need for the weekend ahead. Kate from Makeup by Kate is a freelance MUA with over 16,000 followers on Facebook, and over 4500 on Instagram, and its easy to see why as she truly is one very talented girl.





Kate started out by working for a well known salon named Making Faces in Gorey, for a few months while she was in college. Once she had finished college in 2013, she then worked for MAC for about a year and a half. She is now a freelance makeup artist and is available to travel to people's homes for weddings and special events. Kate ocassionally works out of Ceira Lamberts Hair Salon in Dublin. Ceira Lambert is extremely well known throughout Ireland and has numerous celebrities from both Ireland and the UK attending to her salon on a daily basis. Through working with Ceira at the salon she has had the opportunity to do makeup for models such as Nadia Forde and Vogue Williams. Kate is also a tutor at the LA college of Creative Arts where she teaches bridal and editorial as well as some SFX makeup.

Nadia Forde, makeup by Kate

Nadia Forde

Vogue Williams, Makeup By Kate

So a little bit more about Kate and some make up tips and advice

Where did you train to become a make up artist?
Theatrical and media makeup at Dun Laoghaire Senior College

What is your favourite and/or must have product/s?
Mac strobe cream 
Inglot gel liner #77
Mac skin base visage primer

Do you follow any other beauty or makeup bloggers and if so who do you love?
I mostly follow makeup artists on Instagram but I like to go onto Michelle Phan's beauty blog to have a read. She is a YouTube sensation.

What tips would you give to any girls wanting to become an MUA?
Work hard and don't ever think that your done learning. Even if your great starting out don't ever think that you can't be better. Makeup is constantly changing with new trends coming and going so it's really important to keep up to date with the trends especially because there are so many makeup 
artists in Ireland alone now so you need to stand out.

What beauty or make up tips would you give to us ladies?
If you want your makeup to last for you make sure your prepping the skin well before you apply your foundation using primer is a must for me. It hydrates the skin as well as controlling the oil to stop your makeup from separating. Another thing is enough with the Scouse brows.... I think brows make or break a look. Everybody wants their brows to look great but some girls can over do it. Especially blonde girls going far too dark with their colour. My favourite brow products are Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow pomade I use the shade blonde.

What make up look is your favourite?
You can't beat a smokey eye. I love going really dramatic on the eyes and even adding a bit of shimmer or glitter onto the lid for some sparkle. I would then keep it quite subtle on the lips and go for a nude colour.

Which celebrity always has flawless makeup and which celebrity would you love to work on?
I have to say I love the kardashians and think their makeup is always perfect. Although they wear a lot I love it. I would love to do one of their makeup some day haha, especially Kim's but that's wishful thinking.

So whats next for the future of Make up by Kate?
For now I have a busy few months coming up to Christmas with makeup bookings but in the new year I have lots of plans. I want to focus on my YouTube Chanel and get some videos up and running. I would love to bring out my own makeup brand or brush line so who knows someday hopefully that 
will happen.

Watch this space girls, its obvious Kate has a very bright future and we will be seeing alot more of her. If you would like to follow her via Facebook, Instagram or YouTube, please see links below

A massive thanks to Kate

Facebook - Makeup By Kate

Instagram account is @makeupbykateh

YouTube channel

                                                 

(The YouTube channel is not running yet the account is set up an account and Kate hopes to start videoing in the new year )

What's love got to do with it

When I was young and I imagined my future, I pictured my life and everything that it would be. Meet a guy, fall in love, travel the world, build a home ( with a white picket fence of course) get married and have beautiful babies. Your stereotypical dream life. See I'm the kinda girl that falls in love fast, and I'm also the kind of girl that believes love should be like a fairytale. Just like the movies. But it isn't really, is it? Reality never matches the fantasy. Every love story is different and so is every relationship.

I've been with my partner/fiancé now for over 10 years, and it's pretty fair to say that most relationships have their ups and downs, but ours was one ROCKY start. When we initially met I don't think either of us had planned on anything too serious (but then again no one ever does). We had both been in long relationships prior to meeting, so neither of us eager to get into another one. Only a few weeks (Yes weeks!!!) into the relationship and I (we) became pregnant, a total shock and totally unplanned of course. So we never really had that fun honeymoon period, start of a relationship like others have, because we were hit with a massive dose of reality right from the beginning. Now coming to terms with being pregnant all while getting to know someone is tough. I knew he was a decent guy but insecurities (and hormones) plagued me, thoughts like "was he only with me for the child" caused many arguments. During this time we went through so many emotions and uncertainty, that I wasn't really sure if something that had started off like this could really last. But we were stronger than we thought. Flash forward through the last 10 years and I honestly don't know where they went, so much but so little has happened, and what I mean by this is, we've had 2 kids but not managed a home or wedding (or the travelling the world bit). No matter how hard times got over the last few years, I knew one thing for sure, and that was that I could never imagine my life without him.

How would I describe our relationship? Anyone that knows us, will tell you that we joke about this, we always say "we are just like John and Mary" from Father Ted. We are like an old married couple, bickering about nothing half the time. Nobody and I mean nobody can annoy me like he can, but also nobody can make me smile like he can either. One minute I could literally be cursing him and another minute laughing with him about something stupid. I don't think we take ourselves too serious. We argue about most things that couples argue about, making life decisions, money, the kids etc. We are very alike but totally different at the same time. I hate the outdoors, he loves the outdoors, we have totally different interests, two people you would probably never put together. However we have always enjoyed a good night out and that has never changed in the last 10 years. I can go out and have the best night out with john, as good if not better than any night out with the girls. Now don't get me wrong we are nowhere near perfect, most of the time when he is telling me something I'm not even listening. I have a great knack of zoning out and he is forever giving out to me for my love of social media (he isn't even on Facebook, the big weirdo). But that's us and it just seems to work somehow. 

When I was at home last weekend, I was watching my Mam and Dad. They have always been a very loving and affectionate couple and sometimes a tad inappropriate in public, (For ex. my dad saying "isn't your nana sexy" in front of my kids) but they just seem to be so perfect for each other. Being at home last weekend I realised something though. Love just isn't enough, it matters a lot but it isn't everything. All of their kids have now flew the nest and it's just them now. They are together almost 39 years, which is a big achievement. I wonder what makes a relationship work and sustain for that long? Respect, hard-work, honesty, I'm sure nothing comes easy. When you have kids your whole life and relationship tends to evolve around them. The best that you can hope for, is that when your kids grow up and start their own families, you have a partner you can now enjoy the rest of your life with. It is about finding a life companion, someone to let you be you, to grow and change with you, to challenge you, and most of all a friend, and if your really lucky a best friend.

So what's love got to do with it? A lot? A little? Is it everything? Let me know what you think

Luv Lisa xx