GRAINNEBINNS: June 2017

Body & Soul

09:33

Body and Soul is my favourite festival! It's always so magic, there is so much to do and so much detail goes into everything there! After being last year and having such a fabulous time I wasn't sure whether it could possibly top my expectations but it did! The weather for once at an Irish festival was perfect! There was of course 1 or 2 showers but only at times when it wasn't really majorly important because it was in the morning time when most of us were wrapped up in our tents!

My absolute favourite thing about Body & Soul I think is going down I knew perhaps 1 or 2 of the acts listed on the line up but I enjoyed every single act I saw play! My musical highlight though was definitely finding a reggae night in a tiny little food tent on the Saturday night. There was 1 guy singing live who had the most amazing voice and then a guy DJ'ing straight after! Sadly it ended quite early but as soon as one stage ended we continuously made our way to other stages until there was nothing else to see! We did this on the Sunday too but everything ended much earlier... However on the way back to the campsite one of the structures in place in the main arena happened to become a drum like instrument and people began making music, LOL!

After being so pleased with my life outfits I was unsure whether I would be able to top them for Body & Soul especially with a lack of money due to intense saving for Asia, but a little bit of DIY and borrowing from friends I was so so please with my looks for all 3 days!

Here they are...

DAY 1

Shorts - Borrowed from a friend

Kimono - Lucys Lounge Dublin

Bralette - Penneys/Primark

Fishnets - Penneys/Primark

DAY 2

Bodysuit - Bought from H&M I then glued the pink fluffy boa and diamonds on (Both from eBay)

Tights - Costume shop Dublin

Hat - DIY initially bought on eBay

DAY 3

This look was by far my favourite! After my Birthday I treated myself and ordered this beautiful custom two piece from the AMAZING Unexampledapparel! They make the most amazing festival pieces and are a very reasonable price! For this beautiful two piece I only paid about €50 including the shipping from the UK! The best thing is wearing one of their designs you're bound to be one of a kind!

To buy bits go to their Instagram or else they do have an etsy page! I went through instagram though as I wanted mine to be custom! Be sure to give them a follow!

UnexampledApparel Etsy!!!

MY FACE!

Once again I have the amazing Festi Fox for providing me with a weekends worth of stunning face gems and this time a fabulous chest one also! They were all so beautiful and lasted the entire weekend!

Be sure to follow @Festi_Fox on Instagram and watch out on their website because they have some fabulous new designs coming your way in July!!!

Festi Fox Website!!!

Again of all my other glitters on my face are from eBay!

MY HAT

This is one thing I am super proud of! I came across a similar kinds of designs everywhere on Instagram and I was set on getting my hands on one however most places sold them for crazy crazy prices. One place I looked at charged 200 pounds upwards! So I decided to get a bit creative and make my own! I ordered the hat from eBay and it initially looked like this...

With a little bit of spray paint, pink feather boa, glue gun, diamonds, cow print material and glitter I transformed it into my own amazing hat which I adore!! In total after buying the hat and all the bits I would say the max it cost me was €20!!!

PICTURES

AFTERMOVIE

I had so much fun making the Life aftermovie I decided I would make a Body & Soul one too! Here it is, Enjoy!

Thank you Body & Soul for being so beautiful yet again!

Now to get ready for my flight to Asia which is literally in a few hours!!!

To more fabulous memories with all my fabulous friends!

Grainne

asia

TRAVEL PREP!!!

02:10

AGHHH! Honestly, I cannot believe it but the time has finally come. On Wednesday my 8 weeks traveling begins! I got my exams results this week also, I'm delighted with them and have just finished packing for Body & Soul where I'll be spending the weekend! What a way to say bye to Ireland!!!

Trying to get organised for both as well as working as much as I could to stack up some cash has been fairly hectic but I've decided even throughout my travels I am going to try and blog as much as I can about my trip and I guess this is the first part! The preparation!

The Injections

Probably the first bit of preparation we did besides actually booking the flights, we had our injections before we even really had any idea of what route we were doing. This didn't really help when the consultant was advising whether or not we would need malaria tablets. Most parts of Thailand are low risk, however, parts of Vietnam and Cambodia are high risk! This kinda helped us though as we decided our route would just consist of the low-risk areas. Lol.

So what injections did we get?

Initially, we just stuck to the main 3 recommended, Typhoid, Hepatitis and Tetanus. We were really unsure for about 2 weeks whether or not to get the Rabies one but after realising all 3 of us love animals especially dogs it would probably be best to. Also if you do become infected whilst travelling, receiving the correct treatment in the right amount of time can be extremely difficult.

costs?

The initial 3 injections we had as well as the consultation came to about €140, Tropical Medical Bureau do a student discount though so it came to about €133 I think. May not seem like a huge discount, but in Thailand, that's a meal and a drink! Go wild!!

The Rabies one is a little bit pricey but only because you need 3 of the injections and they are €35 each and about €31.50 with student discount!

We used the TMB on Grafton street but there is also one in Dun Laoghaire as well as Clarehall. You just call them a couple of weeks in advance and get an appointment, super easy!

The Route

We still aren't day by day super organised on this, nor do we want to be. We decided we would book important things like the full moon party accommodation as well as the first few nights of accommodation in Bangkok! Our plan so far though is to spend the first three nights in Bangkok, then making our way over to the Islands on the east side and then the West side. We then have a flight booked from Phuket to Cambodia then plan to make our way to Vietnam before heading back to Thailand for some Jungle fun in Chang Mai! Then it's back to Bangkok and home bound! We did want to squeeze in Bali at some point but we figured even with 8 weeks we just do not have enough time!!!

The Bagpack

Despite the many festivals I've been to I have just never bought myself a bagpack lol! I would have liked to get a really great one that maybe might have lasted years but I decided for this trip I needed the extra cash for other bits lol. This one is still dead handy though, I picked it up in Argos for €32.99. It's 45L and surprisingly fits all of my stuff quite cosily and I am not good at packing light! How cute is my little flamingo luggage tag?

What's In the Bag?

As I said I am absolutely so bad at packing light, but I'm surprised at how well I am doing so far! I didn't really buy loads of new clothes because I decided I would rather bring things I don't mind leaving behind if my bag does start to get too heavy at some point along the way! I mainly have bikinis, small tops/bralettes, shorts and little dresses! Everything pictured is my toiletries, it was so hard trying to buy what I think will last 2 months, this is also by far the heaviest part of my luggage! I got this cute little happiness journal from work as part of a leaving present, I definitely plan to write in it every second day at least! Journals are amazing especially a few years after they're written. Memories are literally refreshed as brand new! In terms of shoes I am bringing these amazing new flatform sandals I got today for about €6, they are SO comfy as well as 1 pair of runners and 1 pair of sliders! I will be bringing my camera, but I've decided against bringing my laptop in fear of it being stolen as there could be some hostels we stay in without lockers! My aim is to get to an internet cafe whenever I can to get a blog done!!!

I am so excited, so many beautiful memories to be made and documented!

Grainne

JUNE!!!

19:01

Hello June! Wow, I cannot believe we are already nearly halfway through the year! I had such a great month last month, I finished my second year of my degree, celebrated my 21st and went to Life Festival! Now it's June and everything keeps getting more exciting with Body and Soul around the corner and only 3 weeks until I jet off to backpack around South East Asia for 8 weeks! I decided to write this blog on a little bit of everything just to welcome this new and exciting month!

Products I am Lovin' Right Now!

So to kick off I thought I would share some of the products I have recently started using that I adore at the moment!

NYX Liquid Suede

This is literally my go to lippy at the moment! If you saw my previous post about Life Fest, this is the lippy I had on in every picture! The colour is so beautiful and is great for festivals as well as a more casual look! It goes on like a gloss and then dries into a matte. However unlike some other mattes isn't too dry on the lips! It lasts for hours as well without needing to constantly top it up!

Here it is on my lips! It is so affordable too at just €9!

Lush "Dream Cream"

I have used Dream Cream before about a year ago but recently decided to get it again. It is 100% one of my fave moisturisers ever! It has lavender oils in it and you can literally smell it for hours after you apply it! I got this one because I told the gal in lush my skin is kinda combination skin, sometimes a bit dry and she recommended this then rubbed loads into my arm as a tester for me! Some people aren't too keen on the customer experience in Lush but I adore it lol! Even though sometimes it can be dangerous for me because I am so easily persuaded! It's never somewhere I go to window shop lol! Another great thing about this moisturiser and in fact all of the moisturiser pots this size is they last such a decent amount of time! I normally get about 3 months or so per pot and I apply it after my shower every day, so I will definitely be bringing this one away with me! At around €17- €20 per pot (this size) it may seem pricey but as I said they last and also use such fresh ingredients! Also how cute is the packaging?

NYX Finishing Powder

When I have make up on for quite a long time my skin gets quite oily and my face really goes quite shiny! This finishing powder is such a perfect solution! It helps my make up last longer and when I do get a little bit shiny I just apply a little bit and it freshens up my face without making it too orange or anything throughout the day! I've found with bronzers and other powders in the past that when I re-apply them to lose my shiny-ness I just end up looking darker lol! This is a V reasonable price to at just €12. I use the Banana shade because my skin is quite fair. They have a few different shades to choose from!

Revolution Highlight Pallette

I got this palette as a gift from some of my friends for my birthday and I am OBSESSED! I had seen a different friend using it before and I was wowed by it on her so was delighted to get it as a gift. It is fab for everyday make up but I also found the purply colour so fab for festival make up and it goes on really purple and shimmery when you apply quite a bit and gives a V mermaid/unicorn kinda vibe, which I am all about for festival season! I used it every day at life and it was so handy because the mirror is quite big! Hence it is quite dirty and does not look brand new lol!

NYX Face Duo Visage

First of all, plz excuse my gross chipped nail varnish in this pic! lol! This is another NYX product I cannot go without anymore! I use is literally every single time I wear make up. I am kinda new to putting effort into my face make up. I used to just throw on foundation and powder, so this highlighting and contouring game is all new to me so I needed something easy to use! That's why I love this! Like the Other NYX things I mentioned it is also very reasonable, I cannot remember exactly but I think it was €10.99! I am loving NYX right now, definitely one of my top make up brands at the moment!

Lush Handmade Colour!

I love this product because it is multipurpose! It can be worn as a lipstick, eyeshadow, eyeliner or even as a blusher! At Life I even used it for some little facepaint decorations! This is my first time trying one of these little pots but from the small amount required each time I've applied it so far I think it is another thing that will last quite a decent amount of time! I think it was around €15 which is quite pricey but I do think it is value for money because of the quality, the fresh ingredients and the amount of use you get out of it!

(All of these products are cruelty-free!)

5 Things I'm Wishin' 4!

(Click The Pics for Links)

These amazing shorts are from Elsie & Fred, if you don't already know them you need to! They do the most fabulous festival garms! If I wasn't saving all my dolla for travelling they would have it all! Such fabulous unique pieces!

Yet another festigal GEM!!! These bby's come in a few different colours and are all so beautiful!

The idea of living in a bikini for 8 weeks whilst travelling has me obsessed with browsing for cute little sets like this one!!

Just another festigal dreaaaam! I adore all of the Shop Easy Tiger pieces and like Elsie and Fred, they are all so unique! Legit listening to Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl" as I ooze over these disco shorts and the matching bralettes!

Again dreaming of cute swimwear because of my upcoming travels! I adore this swimsuit it is super cute! The thing I love about swimsuits also is you can totally wear them all year round as a top lol!

Food For Thought...

I feel like the past month has been crazy with the terror attacks in Manchester and London as well as the ones in the countries we don't hear about on the news. For a while I found it all really hard to digest. After watching the One Love concert I was so overwhelmed with emotion, out of such a tragedy there was so much love, unity and compassion and I feel like it just proves that even in the darkest of times it is so important to remain positive and hopeful. I also think it stresses the importance of living every day as if it were your last. Try not to argue with people or hold grudges, try not to worry or stress about things such as money or exams etc. because at the end of the day in the large scheme of things in life these things are so minor. Life is short, make the most of it!

Grainne

LIFE FESTIVAL 2017

17:25

Well, well, well, festival season is finally here! (WOOO) Last weekend I returned to Life Festival for my second year and it did not disappoint! It was such an amazing weekend and left me feeling so grateful to have such great people in my life who keep on filling my time on this earth with the most fantastic memories!

I had so much fun this year with my outfits and my make-up even if applying so much glitter and gems each day did mean spending literally an hour or an hour and a half doing so each day! But once it was all finished it was definitely worth it!

Here are all my looks from the weekend!

Day 1