SO it’s the last day of my Colour Me Happy Challenge today and I’m over the moon with how it went.
Howaya!
Top Tesco, trousers Yours Clothing, shoes Heatons
I enjoyed it personally, loved breaking out my bright summer clothes and putting away all my dark winter gear. But most of all I loved seeing others taking part, digging clothes they had forgotten about out of the back of the wardrobe, painting their nails, going shopping, enjoying fashion.
Joanne looking STUNNING on a night out
Sharon blinging it up in petrol blue
While this is the end of the challenge, I’ve retired my winter wardrobe for good now (well, until next autumn anyway!) and intend to wear bright colours, patterns, florals, stripes and polka dots as often as possible. And I hope you will too.
****COMPETITION TIME****
To celebrate the conclusion of the challenge I have a tiny giveaway for you all! Just for the heck of it I have a €20 gift voucher for Boots up for grabs.
And also for the heck of it I have a second and third prize up for grabs too!
Second prize is these lovely mosaic-style eggshell blue and coral earrings:
Second prize
Third prize is this cute set of three star shaped stud earrings:
Third prize
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is leave your name in the comments below. The competition runs until next Sunday, Easter Sunday, April 20 and a name will be chosen at random and the winner announced Sunday evening. First out of the hat wins the voucher, second wins the mosaic-style earrings and third out wins the star shaped studs. This competition is open to readers in the Republic of Ireland only. (Readers in Northern Ireland are free to enter but the Boots voucher is in euro so if you win, you will have to come down south to spend it!)
OK. I’ll admit it. This Colour Me Happy Challenge – I’m feckin’ freezing! Am I the only one? Yeah, it’s not lashing rain, but lads it’s not warm either. It’s April. In Ireland.
And there I am poncing about in bare legs and thin t-shirts, maxi dresses and skirts. Like a gobshite.
Skirt Monsoon (charity shop find) top Dunnes and shoes New Look. Baby: model’s own!
Before, I worried that people were looking at me in the supermarket because I was a bit of a fatso but now I know they’re actually thinking ‘Jayze, she’ll catch her death in that’.
It’s hard to pull off fake tan when you’re covered in goosebumps, it really is. And I actually do feel like I’m getting a cold in my kidneys, I’m not messing.
No 7 High Shine Lipgloss
But I shall persevere, I’m enjoying it no end. Deciding what to wear every morning, messing about with makeup (I went for pink eyeshadow today!) and dying to get online to see what my fellow challenge-ees are wearing.
Angela’s Manolo’s. WELL JEL!
Christina’s minty nails
Joanne’s purple and green combo is just fab
I’m so pleased with how people have embraced this challenge and I’m hoping to continue to wear bright colours for the rest of the spring and summer.
Gorgeous Dervla showing off enviable legs. Swit swoo!
So now, I’m off to put on my electric blanket and fill a hot water bottle while I cuddle up in my fleecy pjs and dressing gown. Bitther I tell ya, bitther!
To take part in the #ColourMeHappy challenge comment here, or follow me on Twitter @beatingblog under the hashtag.
I REALLY needed this Colour Me Happy challenge yesterday as the dark mist descended out of nowhere.
Post natal depression really is a pain in the hole. Fine for weeks on end, months even. And then all of a sudden you don’t want to get out of bed. For no reason, you just don’t want to get out of bed.
But I did and knowing that I had started this challenge and wanted to complete it, I got showered and dressed too, in my most colourful hippiest dress (from Tesco, natch).
Dress from Tesco
Foundation: Rimmel Wake me Up.
This is the dress that makes Mammy Dunne say things like: ‘Oh now. That’s very … well. It’s very, um, colourful now isn’t it? Yes, that’s the word. Um, colourful’.
Then she makes her appalled face. She’s mortified to be seen with me when I’m wearing it, so I get great pleasure in turning up at her door wearing it and dragging her about the town.
Getting out of bed and putting on something colourful helped yesterday. It sounds trivial, but it did help. I even brought the baby out for a walk and the fresh air helped even more.
Dervla showing off her amazing pins
Bright sun holiday nails for Naomi
Fiona looking flirty mixing stripes and florals
So did the kind words from the women taking part in this challenge who are embracing it with gusto. Going shopping for new clothes. Digging clothes out of the back of wardrobes. Putting on outfits that they had bought and loved, but hadn’t had the courage to wear. It helps, it all helps.
Karyn is pretty in pink!
Cute red converse brightened up Nichola’s day
Niamh dug out this little beauty from the back of her wardrobe and rocks it.
It helped so much that it was less of a struggle to get up today, less of a struggle to wear something bright and colourful. I went for navy trousers, a mint green top from New Look and my coral shoes from Heatons. I did my nails in a lovely egg shell blue too.
Foundation Revlon Colorstay in ‘Buff’.
Barry M nail polish in ‘Blue Moon’.
Top: New Look
In fact, I felt so much better today that I even went and got my hair did. The hairdresser took my expansive ‘chop it all off, chop it off!’ seriously and did just that. I look like I’m 12 now but at least it’ll take me less time to wrestle a brush through it.
Yes, I’m making my Confirmation next week!
How are you doing with this challenge? Do you think you’ll keep it up?
Join in by commenting here or following me on Twitter @beatingblog under the hashtag #colourmehappy.
Skirt John Rocha. Top Tesco. Shoes Dunnes
SO yesterday I stepped completely out of my comfort zone and put on some fake tan so I could bare [a bit of] my legs in a denim skirt and polka dot top for my Colour Me Happy challenge.
Those who know me know I never wear fake tan. I didn’t even slap some on for my wedding. I don’t like the smell of it and I’m so pale that even the lightest shade looks orange on me. So I usually leave well enough alone.
But yesterday I decided to just go for it and dug out an old tube of Rimmel instant tan that was languishing in the back of my drawers (Ooh Matron!).
Big kiss!
I was mean with it though, I applied literally a hint of it, just enough to turn me from milk blue, to ghost white. So in the pictures you can’t even see it but in real life there was the tiniest hint of warmth. I swear! No YOU shut up!
Mellow yellow Aileen rocking those stripes
Annmarie experimented with her eye make-up for this stunning look.
Dervla’s ‘Rocket Lolly’ nails
The ladies getting involved in this challenge have been hard at work getting their colour on and I hope you have been too.
Pink lady Emma with her beautiful babies
Penney’s finest for Christina who took an office selfie for the cause!
Laura looking springtime fresh!
Don’t forget you can join in by commenting here or following me on twitter @beatingblog or following the hashtag #colourmehappy
The wearing of the green for Michelle
Mary looking fab in crimson
Bright red jeans for Karen
Our Wedding Day – April 2011
THREE years ago today I married the love of my life. I have wonderful memories of a really brilliant day that I’ll never forget.
It marked the end of one part of my life and the beginning of a new chapter. So what better day than my wedding anniversary to start another new chapter?
Specifically I’m talking about leaving behind my insecurities and hang ups about my figure and body and stepping a little bit out of my comfort zone.
Like many of us, I’m inclined to stick to the same ‘uniform’ of clothes and even more so the same palette of colours. Mainly black. Being plumptious I hide behind black a LOT convinced it makes me look three stone lighter, when of course it doesn’t.
You know what, though? I’m sick of it. It’s spring now, coming in to summer, the days are longer, hopefully the sun will make an appearance and I’m sick of wearing dull clothes and covering up.
I need to lose some weight and I’m doing so slowly by following the Slimming World plan but while I’m losing weight, I want to wear nice clothes. I deserve to wear nice clothes. And that means colour and patterns and florals and stripes and polka dots and anything else I fancy.
Trousers – Yours Clothing. Top – Tesco. Shoes – Heatons
Rimmel Wake me Up Foundation, Chanel Eyeshadow, Estee Lauder lipstick
I spoke a bit about this last week in my post about wearing stripes, something I had been afraid to do before as I thought they made me look fat(ter). I enjoyed dressing up and wearing a bold pattern so much that I thought I’d extend it to a week long challenge for myself.
So I’ve decided just to go for it for the next seven days and have a bit of fun with it and embrace fashion and colour and pattern and to hell with size and the ‘rules’ for what you can and can’t wear if you’re a larger person. To hell with it.
Lady in Red – Laura
Aoife’s stunning blue nails
Sara in her new pink scarf
I enjoyed my last challenge a lot and friends and readers got on board with it so much that this time I’ll also be including pictures of other women, of all sizes, who all want to break out of their comfort zones and add a bit of colour to their wardrobes. I’m hoping at the end of the seven days people will have enjoyed it so much that they’ll permanently retire their dull wardrobes.
Sharon’s fabulous statement jewellery and minty nails
Wendy looking fab in her bright pink dress and statement clutch bag
If you’d like to take part, please do join in, the rules are simple: Wear some colour every day, or a bold print/pattern you wouldn’t have worn before. That’s it. You don’t have to buy new clothes, even bright rainbow coloured nails count. A statement necklace, a vibrant scarf, anything. Just wear some colour every day.
You can comment here or follow me on @beatingblog and use the hashtag #colourmehappy to take part. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Enjoy it.
Even Seán is embracing his stripes!
WHEN you’re a bit of a fatty, like me, you’re told to stay away from horizontal stripes. They widen you, make you look fatter. Best to wear vertical stripes, or actually stay away from stripes altogether.
Ah fuck that.
I like stripes, they’re fun and summer-y and have a nautical feel and are just nice, so this past week I’ve decided to forget everything I’ve been told about stripes and just bloody wear them.
Luckily for me Mother’s Day and our wedding anniversary coincided so I was due a little splurge.
F&F at Tesco midi skirt
First up is this Striped Pleated Midi Skirt from F&F at Tesco, which I just fell in love with the moment I saw it. It’s light and swingy and fits like a dream. I teamed it with a plain black t-shirt and a statement necklace. I felt ridiculously good in this skirt, ridiculously good, it’s my new favourite thing.
I then decided that while I was being brave about the stripes, I’d also do something I had never done before – order clothes online.
I’ve never ordered an outfit online before, I’ve always been terrified it wouldn’t fit or wouldn’t look the way it had looked on the website, or would be of poor quality, different material, that kind of thing.
When I came across Yours Clothing though – a plus size retailer – I couldn’t resist, I just loved this outfit and had to have it, shoes, necklace and all.
When I saw it, I had to have it!
Obligatory pointing at self in the mirror picture
The site promised delivery in five days and on day five, joy of joys, the postman knocked on the door and I nearly dislocated his shoulder snatching the parcel out of his hands.
The trousers are super soft and comfortable and the top is just gorgeous, lightweight, stretchy and … oh just LOOK at it. Look! And more stripes!
Oooh Matron!
Look how smug I look, delighted with myself!
Mint green nails for spring
I was very impressed with the shoes, they fit perfectly and are really comfortable while the necklace is really pretty. Overall I was so so impressed with the clothes and the service. I will definitely be ordering from them again.
I’ve also fallen in love with stripes and don’t really care if I’m not supposed to wear them. So there!
Leaf necklace
Bright red nails to brighten a dull Monday
IT’S 3pm on a dreary Monday afternoon and I’m sitting at my kitchen table in a dress, heels and full make-up.
I’m not going anywhere. I don’t have to go to work to impress a client. I don’t have a date. I’m not even going to my doctor, a visit I usually clean myself up for in case she decides to have a poke around my unmentionables.
I’m just dressed up for the sake of it. Just because I can.
It all started last Sunday night when I was watching Mr Selfridge on UTV, a show set in the 1920s, about a department store in London. I noticed all the women – and indeed the men – looked so smart and so glam and so dressed up all the time. The perfectly coiffed hair, the porcelain skin, the vibrant red lip. Gorgeous. Thing is though, they weren’t even particularly dressed up, that was just the fashion of the time, to dress smartly, to ‘do’ your hair, no matter what you were doing or where you were going. I looked down at my tatty pjs and sighed. I doubt they’d let me in the door of Selfridges looking like this.
I’ve recently got myself into a bit of a rut of wearing the same comfortable things every day and not bothering with make up bar a smear of BB Cream. The dresses and skirts and smart tops are in my wardrobe, the make-up is on my dresser but I’ve let it slide. So this week I’m doing something about it.
Dress: Tesco. Cardi: Scarlett and Jo at Evans. Shoes: Dunnes.
I’ve challenged myself to dress up every day this week. For one week I’ll act like I’m a character in Mr Selfridge and do myself up like a dog’s dinner. I’ll do my hair. Wear a dress and heels or boots. Do my nails and wear proper make-up, take the time to blend eyeshadow. The works. Just for the hell of it, just to feel a bit glam. Nobody’s asked me to do this, nobody’s made me feel bad about myself, my husband hasn’t passed any negative comments about my appearance, nor have my friends. This is just about taking the time each day for me. Just for me, for the sake of it.
I started this morning in the shower washing and deep conditioning my hair, scrubbing my face with a wash, then applying body lotion. I painted my nails, straightened my hair and wiggled into The Devils Instruments of Torture (tights) and a dress. I then lashed on moisturiser, foundation, concealer, powder, blusher, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick and lipgloss. It took feckin’ AGES and in truth I was wrecked afterwards but I looked alright. I actually quite enjoyed it.
Eyeshadow! And lipstick! And foundation! All in the one day!
It lashed rain all day so I didn’t leave the house, just tottered around doing the washing up and making beds as usual but that didn’t matter, I still felt good.
I’m on track to continue in the same vein for the rest of the week and have posted on Facebook and Twitter about my challenge, inviting friends to take part too. A pal came up with the hashtag #keepingupwiththeselfridges so if you want to take part, post a pic of your efforts on Twitter with this hashtag and share the glam.
Just a word to the wise though – if you’re in a relationship tell you’re partner that you’re doing this challenge, just in case – like mine – they come home, take one look at you and immediately decide that you’re having an affair. *taps side of nose*
Beating Myself Into a Dress 