Declaré - An Introduction to the brand | Declaré Series

all skin types

A sensitive skin care range for all

Hey everyone

Last week I got the opportunity to attend a media and press day for Swiss skin care brand Declaré.
They are by no means a new brand (They've been knocking about since 1979) or new to the Irish market (A new distributor KD Cosmetics is running the show).
I was surprised that I hadn't heard of the skin care range before now. However I am familiar with their sun care range - not that it's needed in Ireland. :D)

Declaré is a leading luxury skin care brand, available in 40 countries and specialises in sensitive skin care. They were the first company to exclusively formulate sensitive skin products back in the late seventies. They are hugely into scientific R&D and have won awards for creating innovative products. Not too dissimilar to the likes of Lancome who also invest a huge amount of time and money into research.

Declaré have all their products seperated into different areas to make the consumers life easier when searching for a solution to their problem area. See below!

 Facial Care (E:g If you have allergies you know you can be sure that anything the skin is normally allergic to wont be found in the range).
•Hydro Balance
•Vital Balance
•ProYouthing
•Age Control
•Caviar Perfection
•Pure Balance
•Allergy Balance
•Definite White
•Soft Cleansing
•Eye Contour

•Stress Balance

Mens 

Professional Assortment

Sun Sensitive

Body Care


Below are just a few reasons why I really like them. I'll also throw in some pictures of the event for the craic and by the end you should be up to speed. 
Come back tomorrow (and the rest of the week) as I will be telling you about my favourites from the huge range available.

The whole sensitive skin thing


I have sensitive skin. I have suffered with contact dermatitis for years and break into a rash when certain chemicals come near me. I really struggle to find a decent hard working hand cream. For example, The Neutrogena one makes my hands unbearably itchy and I refuse to walk around with a tub of aqueous cream. It's just so unfair!
This brand is what I have been searching for. Really. 


Affordable luxury


I don't know how many times I have gone to a luxury brand to repurchase gifts and almost died when I heard the price so I was expecting to hear similar Euro signs thrown around when we asked the important question "How much is this all going to cost me"? I was pleasantly surprised at the answer.. Imagine that? A 400ml bottle of cleanser for under €20! Higher price points at €50 mark. Happy days.

Keeping it in the family


I just love the fact the this brand is loved and owned by a family. The founder Mr Karl Troll is still hugely involved with the company. The daughter Barbara Troll who I was lucky enough to meet at the event is such a gorgeous and friendly woman that I couldn't help but instantly like her.
The company have won Spa Diamond awards for innovation in both 2013 and 2014.
Also the passion they have for the brand is so clear. They truly are product and skin care experts.

Barbara's colleague Elka performed a skin test on the day using this nifty gadget that magnified the image by 50 times to see if there was any sign of dryness or stress. The test showed that I had some dryness but as a whole my skin was thankfully even so no wrinkles just yet...
From that Elka recommended some products that I have been trying out for the last few days. I will give my verdict during the week. :)

Declaré in Ireland are super exclusive just now and available in select pharmacies nationwide so check the stockist list for the closest store to you.

 Thanks for reading and if you enjoy this series then let me know so I do something like this again soon. 

 Love Louise xxx

Now for some pictures
































*Disclaimer* I was not paid to write this post and as usual all opinions are my own. I am just delighted to have found the range and wanted to share with you all. 
I was gifted some products at the event that I will write about in later posts.

New Hair | Life and Beauty

beauty

New Hair | New me 

Hey everyone

Just a quick post to show off my new hair!

Last week I took a trip to L'oreal head quarters in Dublin for a colour in the stylist studios. The ombré was updated using a really cool technique where the hair is sectioned around the front of head in ponytails, the colour is painted on surface and then the ends are covered in colour. It made the ombré look amazing and I have golden tones running through the mid section of my hair too.

I needed a cut though so made an appointment with Niamh in Peter Mark, Blanchardstown.

She cut 3 1/2 inches off and I feel like a new woman!!
Niamh kept the length even front and back. She also chopped into existing layers to make the hair appear lighter.
She finished off with a "Boho wave" blow dry which involves a medium roller brush and medium heat. It is the cool kids curly blow dry!

I am loving the change and shorter hair!

Chat to you Monday!

Love Louise xxx
Pre colour and cut

random waiting for cut picture

I asked for a pic to show my sister her colour... Stalker much :P

The big reveal!

"Boho Wave" Blow Dry is amazing!

:)

Life Update | Follow on from Post "Brushing off the cobwebs"

cancer
This will be a long post. Just an FYI xx

I think I should go back to November to give you a sense of what we achieved in Stephen's last few months of life. If you want to catch up click here before continuing...

Stephen passed away peacefully in St Francis Hospice, Blanchardstown on January 14th 2015.

 Before I begin I have to say that even though I was Stephen's sole carer the staff, nurses and doctors in St Francis Hospice are amazing. The nurses came to our house daily to give him medications I couldn't administer. The HSE and Social welfare have been fantastic too. Credit were it is due, 
My employer who will remain private have been amazing too.
Also St Vincents Ward in Mater Hospital couldn't have been more supportive. His consultant Prof, Carney is a miracle maker and was so invested in Stephen's well being.Stephen couldn't have stayed home as long as he did if we didn't have that support. 

I left you with the news of our marriage. What a magical day. I know that means I am now a young widow but I wouldn't change a thing. I am proud to bear the title knowing that we committed to each other fully in the eyes of God amongst a million other reasons.

November

Scotland

Driving to Scotland
We drove from Dublin to Scotland for the last epic road trip. Stephen is car mad. He used to regale me of (the same) stories of his first epic road trip around the Ring of Kerry and how it made him feel alive. He also loves Scotland, we both do! Edinburgh is our favourite city after Dublin of course. It made sense to us to allow him one last trip to Scotland and as we couldn't fly we chose to drive. 

We drove to Belfast first and took Stena Line ferry to Cairnryan, Scotland. I haven't been on a boat in years so I was bowled over with how much you can do regarding activities. We paid a little extra to access the Stena Club Lounge and that in itself was unreal. Free drinks, snacks, free wifi, free use of iMacs, areas to sleep and of course the best view from the ship. Coming home we booked a suite and slept the whole way from Cairnryan to Belfast.

Edinburgh Castle behind us! <3
Stephen  drove as far as Glasgow and I took over for the last leg of journey to Fife. It took 9 hours to get over including breaks and traffic stops. We surprised my sister by knocking on her front door. 

Whilst over there we didn't sit around. We took in the sights of St Andrews. Anstruther, Dundee, Kirkaldy promenade and Edinburgh City Centre. It was amazing to see Scotland in the luxury of our own car! 

Newgrange

Stephen, his family, Gemma and myself wrapped up
and got into the cars for a trip to Newgrange. Stephen and I got to take in the visitor centre months earlier but never actually got to see the tombs. That was definately worth the trip, We all had a great time and Stephen got to spend much needed time with his family.

We went to dinner in so many places and had waaaayyyy too many take aways. I wanted to make sure he ate so why not have all his favourite foods..

Loki, Ella and Stephen at the Pet Expo

December

We went to the Guinness Storehouse on a day trip. Best experience of our lives. Then there was the Pet Expo with the dogs. I forgot about these until I went rooting for pictures!

Christmas and New Years

It was all Stephen wanted. To be well enough to spend Christmas and New Years with us all. We went to Beaumont House on Christmas Eve with all his pals. It was such a fun night and we all made some lovely memories.

Christmas Shopping
We went a bit mad buying gifts for everyone. We got picture mugs, photo calendars and gifts made by SnapFish.com. (If you are looking for original gifts they are the cheapest I found online).
Christmas day was lovely. We brought Loki visiting family, Stephen bought him a Santa costume and tried to pass it off as my purchase but you could clearly see besotted Daddy was giving himself away when showing off the dog!! 
 We went to mass in the morning in Whitehall Church which was fabulous and dinner in his parents by late afternoon. 
Stephen spent St Stephen's Day with his parents while I went to mine. 
New Years was another family occasion. I brought out the new Canon Stephen bought for me for Christmas and we took some great pictures for memories.

Family time Lol at Loki
New Years Selfie!

January

I still cannot get over the fact he lasted 14 days into January. In those two weeks he was great. No pain, off the oxygen, breathing as well as expected for someone with bad lungs. We went for a couples massage on the Friday before he died and on the Saturday we went for dinner on the Cill Áirne on the Liffey. Quay 16 restaurant. It was on Stephens' bucket list to have dinner there. I am so glad we got around to going as it is one memory of the last few days of his life that I can think of without anxiety. I remember he said to me " This is one of the best nights of my life. Beautiful food, Beautiful company. I am happy.". Big smile on his face as he ate his meal of Sea Bass.


The last few days and after

Sunday was when it all kicked off.I surprised him with a Subway but he didn't look himself.
By that night he took very ill. It is hard to write so I will keep this part brief.
I slept 4-5 hours in total over the last few days of his life. We decided it was best to bring him into hospice on the Monday evening. He was brought in on Tuesday afternoon even though he felt better, He needed a rest as did I. 
The next morning I left him with a friend while I went out to take care of business and it was while I was in the bank I got the call that he was gone. 
I don't want to depress myself or anyone just now by going into details but basically the next few days were spent arranging the fun-eral as Stephen wanted it to be called! He is such an easy going person. We spent weeks talking about what he wanted to make sure that if he hadn't checked into Heaven in time that he would have an idea of how the day was going! He chose our clothes for the day and his song was IZ Somewhere over the rainbow. I made sure to have a HUSBAND flower arrangement for the hearse. Those bad boys are expensive by the way!

The day of the fun-eral is a blur. I just remember I didn't feel sad at all. I felt like Stephen was sitting beside me and it was just like the Wedding Day. I'm sure people wondered what I was smiling at but I was having full conversations in my head talking to Stephen about how nice the ceremony was,
He had FIVE priests celebrate the mass and the church was packed, There had to have been at least 300+ guests. I got up on the Altar as Stephen asked and I gave him a great send off - I spoke about our life together and how he made me so happy. I also spoke about his wishes and his love for Loki and everyone. 

My biggest fear was being alone. I have to say I don't feel alone. I believe in after life and that Stephen is still with me and always will be. The anxiety and fear of loss is worse than the actual event, Stephen is pushing me to carry on and that is why I am investing so much energy into putting my blog back to the fore front. I have so much creative energy just now so want to focus it somewhere, 

I've just realised that I have written so much here, I'm sorry if I have bored the arse off you with this essay so I will wrap this up. 

I will continue to talk about Stephen and our life as a sort of therapy. In time I may be able to offer some help to others that need it so feel it will be beneficial to document my feelings from time to time. 

Thanks for reading, I appreciate each and every prayer sent our way.

Next post will be a positive one! Swearzies!!!! 

Love Louise, xxxx

 Check out The Irish Cancer Society Website if you want more information or support.

Shave or Dye or OHMY is looking for support. Get Involved!

St Francis Hospice relies on donations from public to keep the doors open for people like Stephen. Follow the link to donate. Or you can volunteer at the hospice. Check the website for details.