My Favourite Snapchatters

Hello Everyone !

I hope you're all well. Over the last two months or so, I and a lot of the Irish blogging community have become slightly (ridiculously) obsessed with SNAPCHAT. I absolutely love it,I follow mainly all bloggers, YouTubers and some seriously kick ass female entrepreneurs! I get to know the person behind the blog and see what they're REALLY like. It has also helped me find some other amazing bloggers and I thought I'd share some with you today. Also before I forget my snapchat name is 'chasingrubychat'

1. Laura aka 'LaurasViews' is one of my absolute favourites, for the same reason I love her YouTube. She's very honest and true to herself. She tells you exactly how her life really is, there's no airy fairy non sense. She is also hilarious, even though she doesn't mean to be. Also she updates her snapchat with her health and fitness changes and is super inspiring !

2. Julie aka 'JulieKing13' I am obsessed with Julie's hair, it is just amazing aside from that she is a wonderful blogger who always shares her beauty tips and hauls. Definitely follow her!

3. Rosemary aka 'rosemarymacabe' Rosemary is the Junior editor for Stellar magazine. I love her stories because she's very honest and isn't afraid to give her opinion. Also her has flawless skin and I'd just really like to be friends with her!

4. kate kelly aka 'katekelly1'  Kate is also a fellow blogger, she also works in the Cocoa Brown headquarters ! Just like Julie, Kate has amazing hair and is such a sweet girl and I am super excited to have afternoon tea with her in September!

5. Charlene aka 'charlenefmakeup' Charlene is a fab makeup artist and if she lived closer, I'd be booking her constantly to do my makeup. She does fab tutorials and mini reviews on products. if you are a fellow beauty lover, then you NEED to follow Charlene!

6. Melissa aka 'Liplou' is a mammy and beauty blogger. I love her snapchat stories and all the little updates with her son Jake, super duper cute! Definitely give this lady a follow!

7. Jen aka 'Toodollymakeup' You need to follow Jen if you too are obsessed with Beyonce! Jen is a wonderful person, she often gives little random motivational snaps and I just feckin love her! She is also a blogger and MUA if I am correct, her makeup is always perfection.

8. Claire aka 'Irishbeautyt' is a fabulous beauty YouTuber, she is seriously so lovely and down to earth. She brings you through each and every day form morning until night and I just love her stories, she also does  mini product reviews and tutorials!

9.Tanya Rachel aka 'Tanya_Rachel is another fab beauty YouTuber, she is also a fantastic MUA. She is just so lovely and absolutely stunning so definitely give her a follow!

10.Sharon aka 'Sharonleavy' is the beautiful blogger from 'behind green eyes'. The reason I love Sharon's snapchat is because she's very honest and funny but still very nice. Definitely give Sharon a follow if you haven't already!

11. Riona aka 'Rionacahillyt' is a fellow beauty youtuber and is absolutely stunning, her 'bad makeup days' are my holy shit I look amazing days! Definitely give her a follow and check her out on YouTube too for amazing tutorials!

12. Nichole aka 'colliie' is a cork based beauty blogger/youtuber and is just so positive all the time. Her snaps always put me in a good mood. She is so funny and girly and just an absolutely lovely girl to follow!

So there you have it, some amazing Irish snapchatters to follow! Let me know in the comments, who your fave snapchatters are !

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#EMBNBloggersEvent

Hi Everyone,

I feel like I haven't posted in months even though it's only been two weeks! Anyway I'm back and today I wanted to share all the details of the Elite Munster Bloggers Event. I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked, but that was because I was organising it so I was running around making sure everything was ok.

The event was on in the beautiful Strand Hotel in Limerick. The staff were so amazing and helpful. The room was beautiful. We had a stage and a tweet wall. The tables were set up with the bloggers goodies bags and at the end of the room there was sofas to relax and network on.

I had a great day, everything came together really well. We had some AMAZING brands collaborate with us on the day. Inglot Ireland did two makeup masterclasses, a day time and night time look. The lovely Liz from Forever Living spoke about the company and all it's amazing products! We also had the wonderful Oliva from Elizebeth Arden educating us on all of their products and the fact that Shaws offer a 10% discount to all students on ALL MAKEUP AND SKINCARE!!!! We also did a networking session that I hosted. I really wanted all the bloggers to get to know each other, so often I go to events and only talk to a few people because, one I'm very shy and two, there's often not really an opportunity to. SO we did a networking blitz and it went down really well. I was over the moon about it!

We also had some amazing brands sponsoring us with the blogger goody bags such as Miss Fit Skinny Tea, Rimmel, Seventeen, SO SU, Inglot, forever living, Elizebeth Arden, Nima Brushes, Nia, Georgia June, Sally Hansen and Your Nails magazine.

So here are some pics of the day!!!

I just want to say a massive thank you to all of the companies that helped us and to the Strand hotel for providing such an amazing service ! And of course to everyone who came it was so lovely to meet and chat to local bloggers ! 

Erin X

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20 Things I Learned In 20 Years

Hi Everyone !

I've been reflecting recently and really taking time out for myself. I've learned a lot in my 20 years here on this beautiful planet and I want to share twenty of them with you. I've seen a few bloggers do posts like this in the past and I always love reading them. I hope you enjoy reading what I've learned so far...

1. Spend as much time with grandparents, because one day, they won't be here any more.
2. You never know where life is going or where you'll end up, no matter how much you plan.
3. People change, you change, friends change and that's ok.
4. Pubs are much better craic than a nightclub.
5. It's ok to not know what you want to be when you grow up.
6. Looking after yourself is very important ( Drink lots of water, exercise, eat clean, get check ups regularly, sleep, wear a high SPF and most importantly, listen to your body).
7. Disney songs will always be the best songs.
8. Getting I.D'd once your legal is brilliant.
9. I now like wine like wtf ?
10. You sound more and more like your parents every day. Scary.
11. There's no better feeling than fresh sheets.
12. You care less and less about what other people think.
13. You start to believe in yourself
14. You were made to be you, stop comparing yourself and be the very best you can be because that person is awesome.
15. Friendship takes work so cherish the friendships you have.
16. Enjoy the small things, beauty is everywhere and being grateful for all the small things will change your perspective on everything.
17. It's OK to fail.
18. Your parents might actually know what they're talking about. Sometimes.
19. Stop being so mean to yourself, start being your own best friend.
20. Always believe that something fabulous is about to happen.

What have you learned in your life so far ?

Erin X

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5 Instagram Account You Should Be Following

Hi Everyone !

Instagram is one of my biggest sources of inspiration. It's a great place to see pretty pictures and it always puts me in a good mood. I follow lots of different accounts and they all inspire me for different reasons. Some inspire me with vivid colours while others inspire me by the simplicity in their photos, but above all they all have fantastic photography style and will help inspire you to up your Instagram game...

From Roses

I Covet Thee

Design Love Fest

Tessa Neustadt

Meghan McNeer

Who are your favourite Instagrammers ?

Erin X

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Elite Munster Bloggers Network Event !!!

Hi Guys!

This is just a quick post to let you all know that myself and Steph from S2u Beauty and Blog are running an event for bloggers! We set up the Elite Munster Bloggers Network and our first event will be on the 16th of August in the beautiful Strand Hotel. I am so excited !!!

SO the reason we are running the event is because, most/every other event that happens in relation to blogging is always in Dublin, with the exception of the ITWBN events. There are never any events in Limerick and brands have no idea that there are hundreds of bloggers here in Munster. So we wanted to have an event down the south and get to know all the other bloggers from around this region.

Here is the link to get the tickets ! https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/elite-munster-bloggers-network-event-tickets-17881661531

Now anyone can come to the event as long an your a blogger. You don't have to be from Munster, it's just that myself and Steph are based in Munster and so are the events. So more details on the event ???

Ok so we have some a MAJOR treats for all the lovely bloggers that come to the event. We have some fabulous speakers including, a skincare specialist from Forever Living, a networking expert from BlueChief Social and an Inglot makeup masterclass in which the MUA will be showcasing two different looks.

As an added bonus, the very talented Steph from S2u Beauty and Blog will be doing nails on the day. She will be using all the SO SU nail polishes so it's a good chance to try them out.

We will also have some brands there on the day so that the bloggers can interact with brands face to face, sample some of their products and get to know the brands a little better.

We of course have a lovely goody bag for all the bloggers too full of wonderful surprises ! I did let my snapchat viewers in on one secret, so it's only fair that I tell you guys too. Inglot will be giving all of the bloggers at the event, some exclusive Pro Cards. The Pro Cards allow you to buy anything from Inglot at a 20% discount ALL THE TIME ON ANYTHING YOU BUY!!!! Usually it's only fully qualified MUAs that are given these Pro Cards but Inglot are loving our little group so have exclusively given it to all bloggers who attend the event.

The event will run from 12.30 to 5.30 ! There will also be lots of fun after the event with the Strand Hotel doing up a very special 'Bloggers Menu' full of wonderful cocktails and treats !

It's going to be a fabulous day and I cannot wait ! If you are a blogger and would like to come to event, you can buy your tickets HERE ! The Early Bird tickets are only €10 but will be ending by the 1st of August so hurry and get your tickets ! The general tickets after that will be €20.

I really cannot wait, it's set to be a fantastic day ! Let me know who's coming...

Erin X

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Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE

Hello

Today I'm back with a little bit of a different post. As I explained in this post, I want to expand what I talk about on this blog. As I work for a social media company, I love social media and all the tools needed to use social media. That includes a smart phone! I am always on the go and rely on my phone A LOT ! I own the Sony Xperia 5, I got it for Christmas but have been on the lookout fro a new phone because the internal space isn't great. So when Microsoft Social got in touch and asked if I'd like to trial a phone for a few weeks, it was like music to my ears!

I had never previously had or used a windows phone, so I was very intrigued! Ok so down to business, this is a great budget friendly phone. It runs windows 8.1 operating system which is perfect for anyone who uses windows 8.1 on their laptop. There's very little difference so it's easy to get used to. It has a 5 inch screen with a quad core processor.

Aesthetically, it's beautiful. The corners are ever so slightly slightly rounded. It comes with a matt black cover/case so it doesn't slip out of your hand easily. It's very chic but practical. While the screen is great, you might want to keep a screen cleaner around if you're particularly bothered about fingerprints. I'm not so it didn't bother me. Over all the design is very minimal, there is a simple round hole for the speaker grill, the camera and Microsoft logo are positioned in the center, keeping it to a very minimal design.

The phone is completely touch screen and is very responsive. It's 8.8mm thick, so it's very thin meaning it's easily manageable in one hand.  Considering the price (approx €180), it's very impressive to see a display with a pixel density of almost 300ppi. At 294 pixels per inch, the resolution is high enough at distinguishing individual pixels is quite difficult.

For me the camera was one of my favourite aspects, as a blogger being able to take good quality photos from a phone is just ideal. There are lots of settings that you can play around with. It's very clear and the colours come out true to life. I was super impressed with the still shot results as well as the video quality. Also the phone has 1G of RAM with is ideal for storage.

The phone is easy, quick and smooth to navigate. It is a very quick phone, the only times I ever experienced lagging was when I was loading web pages and games. But nothing that would annoy you. It also has a remarkably good battery life, at moderate use you can just about get two full days out of it.

For me, working in social media and being a blogger/YouTube, I use lots of apps on a daily basis. I found that getting the apps I needed such as snapchat wasn't an option. This was quite annoying but to be honest, it's the only thing I can criticize about this phone. It really is an incredible phone for its price point and performed admirably. It will also be up-gradable to windows 10 when that's released.

Have you tried this phone? What are your thoughts ?

Erin X

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W7 In The Nude Palette Review

Hello Everyone!

I heard a lot of hype about this palette being a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette. It's not, It's no where close! Now I don't actually own Naked3 but I have used it before and the quality of these eye shadows are nothing in comparison!

First of all the packaging is awful. After having the palette for only a few days and only opening a few times the lid came off !!! Now I can slot it back together, but every time I open it, it just comes off again so I tend to just click it on the top instead of properly securing it now. Very annoying!

You can see from the swatches that they are not very pigmented at all. The lighter shades are barely noticeable. I did use a primer at the top of each of the swatches, which is why they are more noticeable at the top. Without a primer even the darker shades are barely showing up. The eyeshadows are very powdery and leave a lot of fallout under the eyes and a mess in the palette itself.

I have used them numerous times on my eyes and not once have I been impressed with them. I think this palette is around the €7 mark, but it's a complete waste of money in my opinion. It has put me off trying any of the other palettes from W7 too. This is so disappointing because I am obsessed with the W7 liquid eyeliner and Absolute Lashes Mascara. 

Have you tried this palette or any of the palettes from W7 ? What are your thoughts ?

Erin X

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Manicure Monday

Hello my lovelies,

Happy Monday! Today I'm back with another SO SU nail polish, this time it's 'Rock Candy'. As you can see from the photo, this colour is a beautiful light pink. I really like this colour and think that it'd look great with a tan. Again, I like the packaging and the brush but unfortunately that's where the good things ended for me...

I really don't like the formula! You definitely need at least two coats, otherwise it will dry, streaky and patchy. The polish didn't sit right on my nails and even after two coats still came out a little streaky. These polishes are branded as gel polishes, they're definitely not gel ! I'm glad that this colour was sent to me because if I had paid the full €7.99, I would be very disappointed. 

And I am disappointed! I wanted nothing more to come on here this morning, to tell you that this is a beautiful polish that you NEED in your life, unfortunately I can't. I have never lied on this blog and I don't intend on starting now. I'm so disappointed because I've been hearing lots of talk around the blogosphere recently kind of bashing the SO SU  polishes. I am a big fan of Suzanne Jackson and she is such an amazing role model for the rest of us Irish bloggers, I want nothing more than to support her. 

Last week I reviewed the shade 'Bright Lights' HERE and I loved it and thought that perhaps there was just a slight touch of bitchiness and jealousy in the blogging community and that's why other people were coming down so hard on the polishes. Unfortunately now I see why they came down so hard on them and I do agree with them. I wouldn't purchase this polish and will be very skeptical in trying any other non sparkly shades. 

I'm sorry that this post was negative, but there's no point in lying! Have you tried the SO SU nail polishes ? I'd love to hear your thoughts on them!

Erin X

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YouTube Lately and The Body Shop Giveaway

Hello ❤

I have been loving YouTube lately, some months I love blogging and other months I prefer YouTube. I think it just depends on my mood. Recently I've been in a weird mood, I love reading blogs but making videos. I've decided on a set upload schedule for my YouTube channel and from now on, I'll be uploading every Wednesday at 5pm and Saturday at 7pm ! 

I recently hit 100 subscribers! My first milestone in the YouTube world, I am so happy and thankfully for each and every person that hit the subscribe button, to say thank you I have teamed up with The Body Shop to bring you a fantastic giveaway. All details are explained in this video and also the reason why I started YouTube....

I have seen so many Irish Youtubers do this tag and I thought that it was about time I did it myself. SO here it is, the Irish YouTuber Tag. Hopefully you'll get to know me a little bit better through this video...

I FINALLY went to Lush and oh my god, I spend a small fortune on some amazing products. See everything I picked up in this video here...

So that's been my YouTube life recently, I do have another video up on my channel coming at you tonight, so make sure you subscribe so that you don't miss it ! 

Erin X 

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