50% off treatments at The Spa Dundrum

Here's an awesome New Year offer from The Spa in Dundrum. They are offering a delightful 50% discount on manis, pedis and a range of treatments until February 12th! Now you've no excuse for neglecting those tosies this winter!!

For more information, contact the team on 012165050.

Fashionista Event February 4th

Fashionista Events Ireland are holding their next event in Dublin on the 4th February in Fallon & Byrne from 11am to 2pm. The event gives you the opportunity to refresh your wardrobe in a post Celtic Tiger era! Sellers can clear their wardrobe of still new or barely worn designer clothes and handbags - bought when money was no object! The buyers benefit from a quality injection of "new to you" designer label fashion - without the hefty price tag!

For more detail check out their website fashionistaeventsireland

A great cause and a great treatment! Free threading day in The Body Shop

This is such a lovely idea. You can get fab looking eyebrows and do something good a the same time! The free threading day will take place in all The Body Shop stores on Tuesday 31st January.

For those who haven’t had this before, eyebrow threading is where they use a pure, thin, twisted cotton thread which is rolled over untidy brows, plucking the hair at the follicle level. Unlike tweezing, where single hairs are pulled out one at a time, threading can remove an entire row of hair, resulting in a straighter line.

I'm a big fan of this method... much much better than trying to tweeze yourself (and ending up like a bald eagle like I have on so many occasions!). So go on, treat yourself and donate to a great cause at the same time!

YSL Forever Youth Liberator range

This week Yves Saint Laurent are launching their Forever Youth Liberator range, which uses science to ‘trick’ the skin into regenerating by artificially boosting levels of glycans, complex sugars that play a crucial role in the structure of healthy skin.

Experts in ‘glycomics’ or glycobiology – the study of glycans – say they are vital to maintaining the body’s systems but decline in old age, with the skin particularly effected. To develop the new range, YSL parent company L’Oreal enlisted the help of chemist Professor Peter Seeberger, of the Max Planck Institute. In two years of research he found that glycans have a role to play in almost every aspect of what skin looks like and also discovered the number of glycans in our skin diminishes with age, meaning cells no longer receive the messages they need to maintain youthful-looking skin. The team realised that by artificially raising the levels of glycans in older skin, you could trick it into behaving like younger skin. In tests on 118 women, 68% said their skin looked more luminous, 80% said wrinkles were less visible, while 72% said skin was more plumped.

YSL beauty counters in the UK alone have already taken over 5,000 pre-orders! Can't wait to try this out! Anything for staying younger!

Get the perfect Miss Piggy look!

The fabulous Miss Piggy, the sexiest swine on the block, has been raking in the beauty contracts on the back of her latest movie - Disney’s The Muppets. To celebrate her relaunch she's teaming up with some super brand including OPI and The Balm. Her latest venture is an online exclusive from Mac.

Her collection comprises of just three pieces: Miss Piggy Pink eyeshadow, a fab frosted pink colour (€15), Penultimate Eye Liner in true black (€19) and a set of falsies, 36 Lash (€12). Really looking forward to the eye liner in particular.... this will definitely help achieve the Miss Piggy Hollywood look!

The collection will be available from Feb on the Mac website.

January detox in the Ritz Carlton Powerscourt

If like me you're finding it hard to keep the January detox going (totally broke it in Fallon and Byrne last night.... yum!) why not visit the Ritz Carlton spa for a bit of a detox boost and pampering? They've got a super Detox & Renew offer on at the moment which they've designed to help you cleanse, purify and detox the body and mind.

The treatment starts with a lymphatic skin brushing, followed by a detox body wrap, a massage with detox body oil, a circuit class and a vibro plate appointment. To finish they do an oriental head massage. It all sounds heavenly - minus maybe the circuit class.... but definitely a good way to keep the detox going and help you boost your system.

The price is €130 for Monday to Friday and €150 for Saturday and Sunday. For more information you can call the spa on 012749710.

Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

This is soooooo not helping the January diet but oh my gosh.... Cadburys have just posted an amazing recipe for Creme Egg Cupcakes! I'm in heaven at the sound of these things. As soon as the Jan/Feb diet is over I am definitely making these! For those who have already given up the New Years resolution... here's the recipe below! Nom nom.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup golden corn syrup
3 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla yellow food colouring (optional)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

 

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
 

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder 

½ teaspoon baking soda 

½ teaspoon salt 

1 ¼ cups milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter, softened


Method:
First you will want to prep the "creme egg" filling. Beat 1/4 cup of the soft butter until fluffy. Add syrup, icing sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat until well combined. If desired, stir in some yellow food colouring until a pale yellow. Reserve in fridge and let set up.

Turn oven on to 350F. Grease a muffin tin and line with paper cups. In a double boiler melt the unsweetened chocolate, stirring regularly. You can start mixing the cupcake batter while it melts and then turn the double boiler off when the chocolate is melted. These cupcakes are easiest in a mixer, but can be done with a hand mixer or even an able pair of hands. Beat butter until light and fluffy and add in sugar until well combined. Separate the egg whites into a large bowl and beat the egg yolks into the sugar one at a time. Slowly add in melted chocolate and vanilla.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Alternately fold in dry ingredients and milk in a few batches. Don't over mix! Beat the egg whites to soft peaks and fold in.

Divide the batter into the muffins cups. Remove the creme filling from the fridge and roll out 12 balls no bigger than a centimetre in diameter. In the centre of each cupcake press in a ball of filling as deep as possible. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake for 35 minutes.

Transfer cupcakes to a rack and let cool.

In the meantime combine the last 1/4 cup of butter with the remaining creme filling and beat until uniform. Transfer to a piping bag. The cupcakes should have little holes in the middle. Put your icing into a piping bag and pipe a dollop into the centre of each cupcake.

I gather eating these warm is the best way to do it!

Lust after item of the week - Oasis straw clutch bag

I was xpose doing a thing last night on the new accessory range for Oasis. I really like this straw clutch bag they have. It's small enough to still look sleek and fit in your hand comfortably but there's still a good bit of room for the necessary makeup, phone, keys etc. It's only €31 from Oasis stores. A lovely accessory to dress up any outfit!

New Vera Wang - Princess Night

Princess Night the latest perfume offering from Vera Wang is part mischievous, part glam, but all sparkle!

The fragrance is a floral exotic woody scent. Its first impressions include sweet wild berries, watermelon, and raspberry. Like the other perfumes in the range it is somewhat spicy and is definitely long lasting. The bottle is so fab it's worth buying the product for it alone! Dipped in deep purple glitter, it captures the essence of a Princess after dark.

Available soon from all the usual Vera Wang outlets - BT's, Harvey Nichols etc.

Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Soup

I came across this gorgeous simple recipe on Donal Skehans website the other day. Such a lovely winter warmer and perfect for making a batch on Sunday to get you through the first few lunches of the week.

Ingredients for 4 
A good knob of butter
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 large head of broccoli, broken into florets
1l vegetable stock
100g cheddar cheese, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

The Method

Add the butter to a medium pot over a medium heat until it begins to foam.

Add in the onion, garlic and potato and fry gently until the onion is soft.  Add in the broccoli and stir through.

Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the broccoli is tender. You check this by piercing it with a fork.

Take the pot off the heat and, using a hand blender, blitz until smooth. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper and stir through half the cheddar cheese and taste.

Serve the soup in deep bowls with crusty bread and an extra sprinkling of cheddar cheese.

For more great recipes log on to his site donalskehan.com

Trend alert! T-strap shoes are the next big thing for spring.

The T-strap shoe is huge news for spring--it was paired with practically every look on the runway at Calvin Klein (above), and eager celebs have already been seen out in them.

From left: Kate Bosworth in Chloé shoes; Mila Kunis in Elie Saab shoes; Fergie in shoes from her own collection; Chloe Moretz in head-to-toe Calvin Klein.

Unless you've got perfect pins like these stars I know it's not always easy to pull off the ankle strap look. If you do fancy giving it a try look for a pair of shoes with a more narrow strap at the top so it's less visually cutting on the leg.

Lust after item of the week - Warehouse Mint Lace Jumper

I am so glad to finally see the end of the sales and the new seasons stock coming in! I'm ready for the lighter shades to make an entrance in preparation for Spring time. So my lust after item of the week is this jumper from Warehouse. This gorgeous mint and lace jumper is a perfect buy that will look amazing with white skinny jeans and either nude patent shoes or gold sandals. It's also a quite reasonable €52.

You can either buy it online from warehouse.co.uk or it's also available in stores.