Christmas Shopping at Brown Thomas!

I'm not sure if it's because I had a tradition as a kid to go and visit Brown Thomas on Christmas Eve, with their magical window displays and the last minute shopping buzz, but Christmas shopping just wouldn't be the same for me today, if I didn't take a little visit into the Grafton Street store!

So if you haven't managed to start your Christmas shopping yet, thanks to the lovely white stuff hanging outside our homes for the last week and a half, then maybe this weekend will be the time to start it as Brown Thomas are celebrating the festive season with a 20% off (almost everything*) sale.

If you are a Brown Thomas Black loyalty card holder or have a Brown Thomas Platinum or Mastercard, you can avail of 20% off most of the store from tomorrow, Thursday 9th December until close of business Sunday, 12th December. And if you're not already a loyalty card holder, you can sign up for one when you visit the store!

Now although it says 'almost everything', a little * appears after the 20% off which means there are exclusions to the offer. The sale doesn't include Spring or Summer 2011 merchandise, beauty products, items from The Marvel Room, luxury accessories or jewellery boutiques. It doesn't include Stella McCartney or Burberry accesories, Christian Louboutin or some selected designer footwear. It also excludes the restaurants instore, Laduree and Nespresso.

So what does it include?? Everything in BT2 (yay!) with the exception of Ugg boots, most of the second floor at Brown Thomas including selected footwear and clothing lines.

There is also 10% off watches, Links of London, Alessi and the Electrical and Coffee Emporium. Some cosmetic counters and designer brands may also have their own special offers on over the weekend so keep an eye out!

5 Reasons why I love Rockstar Tan!

1. It’s made with organic ingredients and is animal-testing free!

2. It adjusts to your skin tone so the result is a natural, unique sun-kissed glow!

3. With Aloe Vera in purified water and vitamin ingredients, it allows for even, gradual fading, so no patchy tan marks!

4. After one year of trading they have over 400 stockists and have won 2 highly regarded beauty awards - they must be doing something right!

5. With all the products in the range under €30, the price is great and not only is the colour long lasting, but the bottles too!  

To read about the whole range - tried & tested, see http://www.onoffer.ie/blog/post.aspx?contentid=21668 

Taking a walk on the WILD side

I fell in love with a faux-fur leopard print coat last week and was so close to putting myself into debt and buying it when my friend kindly told me I looked like Bet Lynch from Coronation Street. Since I don't smoke or drink pints I figured I probably wouldn't pull it off so and left the shop empty handed.

Animal prints are definitely a look I'm loving this Winter though and think they add a bit of classic boldness to an otherwise simple outfit - when worn in small amounts! Whilst they've always appeared over the years in the forms of handbags, shoes and other accessories, we're seeing them more than ever incorporated into outfits, particularly leopard print and here are some of my favourite looks for this season...

Love Katy Perry's 3/4 length sleeved dress

Kate Moss adds a faux-fur leopard print coat to a
zip-detailed black dress and understated heels

Rihanna tucks a leopard-print blouse into
a high waisted white trouser suit for a sophisticated look

Forever 21 launches in Dublin

In case the Dublin shopping scene wasn't exciting enough with the opening of the largest New Look store in Europe, it decided to go one step further and get way ahead of the European trends with the arrival of one of America's biggest fashion retail stores, Forever 21.

The store which will open its doors to the public today, Saturday 13th November, is the first of its kind to be opened in Europe - which is bound to shake our fashion scene up and set our standards that bit higher in the stylish city stakes!

Forever 21 is a Los Angeles based company and will be taking over most of the space previously occupied by Arnotts Project in Jervis St Shopping Centre in Dublin City Centre. The store is famous for its fashion trend turnover and with such amazingly affordable prices, its bound to give its competitors H&M and New Look a major run for their money.

The fashion giant didn't choose fashion capitals Paris or London for it's European debut store but little old Ireland instead. Although with 500 stores opened world wide and an estimated 90 new stores being opened annually, I doubt it will be too long before our neighbouring cities follow suit.

Check us out setting the trends!!

Shop 'n Rock!

In case late night shopping visits on a Thursday wasn't enough of a mood booster (retail therapy so near to the weekend, yay!) Dundrum are hosting a 'Shop and Rock' evening this Thursday, 11th November, exclusively for shopaholics!

The Shopping Centre is extending it's usual hours from 9 p.m. - 11 p.m for one night and will be filled with free entertainment, fashion shows, competitions, refreshments and lots of discount shopping!

I thought I was too late to hop on the guestlist but after a very sweet email with a couple of smiley faces I managed to make it on so if you fancy going, email news@dundrum.ie ASAP!

The Cemembert Quartet, The Shoos and The Overtones will be providing some background music while we shop and if you need a break, make sure you visit West Coast Cooler and Lindt for some free chocs! With discounts in lots of participating stores such as Aldo, Fran & Jane, Oasis, Harvey Nichols, Inglot, Penneys and River Island, it sounds like a pretty good time to start the Christmas shopping early this year! Now all I need to worry about is how to fit it all into just two hours... :)

No more cupcakes for Clio...

I've rethought the whole 'do-it-yourself' scenario when it comes to the mechanics of my car. I may have been feeling brave and up for learning all about the anatomy of an automobile but I've decided it's just not worth it! Give me some paint to watch dry any day but ask me about any car-related problem and you may put on your little sneakers and run. Run fast!

Here I was thinking I was great, washing my car all by myself, paying all my car finances, booking clio-patra in for her health check ups and taking her for her NCT. Well, if I could turn back time! If you read my previous blog post on cupcakes and carborators, you'll know my little car failed her NCT test. Fair enough, I'd left the crack on the front bumper... half hoping it would heal itself up / half hoping the NCT man might not notice, but no such luck. I just hadn't anticipated her failing for a fist full of issues!

So off I sent my brother up to the garage (the DIY thing had already worn off) and they fixed some engine part that was listed on the NCT result form despite the mechanics thinking it was just fine. Having only a 30-day grace period to retake the test, I trailed back up once again to the Fonthill testing centre only to fail yet again! And to make matters worse, she failed on the exact same faults. My little brother (extremely handy to have - would recommend) asked the NCT tester man to point out the exact engine faults and off he went storming up to the garage to have a nice big row. But alas, the mechanics - being the knowledgeable engine types that they are trained to be - had actually fixed the right problems, the NCT centre had written the wrong name of the engine part on the original forms.

After a lengthy phone conversation between my brother and the NCT can't-help desk, where he got absolutely nowhere, I resentfully booked a third test and went back to sit in the now very familiar waiting room while I painstakingly watched Clio being poked and prodded for the seventeenth time. When she made it through the other side I marched up to the desk where a young chap said, "bad news". "Oh no", I didn't pass did I?" poor innocent me said, jokingly. "No, you failed". That man was seriously lucky he went home without a black eye!

Despite the garage having tested the emissions and passing them with flying colours, somehow the NCT centre had managed to fail the same exaust less than 24 hours later. I'll plant a bloody tree if they're really that worried! So, with one day left to my grace period, over €600 spent on tests and needless visits to the garage, I ran to my NCT-less car wondering if my face was wet from the rain or the tears for my rapidly depleting bank account...

On booking another test, I then discovered I would have to wait almost 2 months before another date would be free to take another test. I'm hoping Clio doesn't develop any symptoms in that time!

Next time my NCT is due I'm thinking I'd rather chance the points on my license thank you very much! :(

30 ways to shake up your life...

1/ I recently came across an article in an Irish magazine which gave me 30 different ways to shake up my life and I've taken it upon myself to give it a go! I'm not exactly stuck in a rut, in fact I find life a little crazy at the best of times but I'm a bit of an adventure junkie and since my sad financial situation won't allow me to throw myself out of a plane every weekend, what harm is a little extra shake in my life? It keeps me on my OPI-polished toes (koala bear-y, this weeks colour!)


This is the first of my attempts at shaking so I've taken one of the steps from the long list - 'Start a Twitter account or create your own blog.' Okay so I might be cheating a tad since technically I have already started my blog but hey, no harm in getting a bit of a head start! And this is only the beginning, I'm sure the other 29 steps should get a little bit more interesting...