Thegrlwithredhair

Does my bump look big in this?

So I wasn’t going to publish this as I though it was just a hormonal rant but after seeing a post by Soulfullyaisling I thought why not?

Soulfullyaisling Instagram

Does my bump look big in this? Is a question my husband is often faced with along with the classic ‘do I look fat or pregnant today?’ I’m unsure if I ever get an actual answer but usually I’m left with a settling enough response.

But more than once I have been left more than a little hurt and upset, now I may not have shed actual tears in public but definitely in the privacy of my own company I have gotten upset again or cried over the amount of people that have commented on the size of my bump. I’m asked ‘are you sure it’s just one baby in there?’ Or ‘O you’re definitely going to have a BIG baby’ or any variation of these numerous times, taking away the pride I had originally felt when I noticed my growing bump.

I already know my bump is bigger than some, I have been comparing it from the minute I see anyone else’s either online or in person.

The first time I noticed my stretch marks I felt both happy and sad, it was a weird mixture of feeling pride that I was growing a little miracle inside and feeling upset at my changing body shape, knowing I was now marked in some way or other for life.

This has all left me wondering , When did it become ok to comment so freely about the size of someone’s belly? You wouldn’t comment on a non pregnant ladies belly would you? Or on our body size after baby is born? We have enough going through our heads worrying if we’re doing everything right never mind if our bump is too big or too small? We hear and see so much now about being body positive and celebrating our body shape, Shouldn’t we be bump positive as well as body positive?

xoxo OfficialJudeMitch

Ciaciaxo X INGLOT

Beauty, makeup

If you haven’t heard about the ciaciaxo Inglot pallet, where have you been???

From the moment I laid eyes on this I knew I JUST HAD to get my hands on it! The bright and wearable colours really drew me to it. Knowing it’s an INGLOT product I knew it was going to be good! They are known for their deeply pigmented shadows. And it’s a steal at only €30!! I couldn’t wait to get to Belfast or Derry to buy it! I don’t know why, but I would much rather buy makeup in real life. (Probably so I can play with it ASAP) I hadn’t had a chance to get away to either So when INGLOT emailed to tell me there was free delivery, I was all over it! And ordered this promptly. And they still had some pieces left in their sale so it was win win. I COULD NOT wait until this arrived! And silly me was so excited at checkout I even sent it to my old house. That’s another story all on its own! But anywho I got it!!

I mainly bought it because not only is it stunning and every colour is more magical than the next, I could think of soooo many different looks and colour combos. And I knew this is just what I needed to get me out of my Blaaa non makeup rut (I’ve been feeling uber blaaaa lately and with my skin issues makeup was just a no no for me) Also Ciara is a fellow Tyrone gal and if that’s not a good enough reason to purchase, I don’t know what is!!

Oddly enough the green is the colour that I was the most excited to try and I haven’t even touched it yet!

My first thoughts were

* The cover is amazing and it came so well packaged up.

* Initially I did think the pallet was smaller and thinner than the normal INGLOT pallets and compared to what I was expecting. But considering the single eyeshadows are around £5/€6 I understood. And I still think it’s super good value

* The shadows are sooooooo pigmented and so far I haven’t seen as much fall out as I was expecting.

* The black is the the Perfect texture to blend seamlessly with the brighter colours to deepen and darken.

Overall I am VERY impressed with this pallet and would definitely recommend it for all makeup looks, from more subtle looks to all out colour. you will not be disappointed.

Get your hands on your very own pallet here Ciaciaxo I strongly recommend you do!!

xoxo OfficialJudeMitch

We bought our PRAM!!!

Bump and Baby, lifestyle, shopping

We did it. We finally settled on a pram. This has got to have been one of the hardest decisions to date. I never thought I would have been googling all sorts of safety features and reading EVERY single review I could find of prams of all things.

Obviously it had to look the part. and then there is the issue of me having not the most practical car (and I’m not to enthused about changing it any time soon) so boot size could be an issue. (*update I did end up changing my car after being convinced two seats was not the way forward) the check list was almost as long as my arm and I had little hope of ever finding a pram to meet all my needs and wants.

The market seems to be saturated with grey or navy prams with the odd crazy Kaki green thrown in for good measure. Shocker that’s just NOT me. I had initially went to have a brows shortly after I found out I was pregnant to gage what sort of pram I liked the look of and to get a rough idea of price and other important features I should be looking out for.

But when I had called into Kiddies corner in Omagh I was being shown every possible pram and colour choice, out of the corner of my eye there was a pram just catching my eye every time I looked near it. I needed to know more!! I snapped a pic and sent it to my Hubby and to my surprise he liked the look of it too!!

I knew I wanted to buy local as it just makes things handier for picking up etc. and after my first visit to kiddies corner I knew I would be buying it there. They Know their stuff!! And I was pretty sure my extensive check list could be ticked off. Now I did look elsewhere as I wanted to be 100% sure we were going for the right one especially if I’m going to be pushing this thing about for a few years it’s got to be perfect, practical and durable. (and they’re not cheap either) I didn’t want to miss out on the perfect pram just because this one was pretty.

So we done the usual Mothercare, Mamas and Papas, Kings & Tony Kealy’s to name a few! as well as trailing online reviews and blogs! and asking copious amounts of new and experienced mums. It was settled! We finally went for the iCandy Peach Nectar. It ticked all the boxes and loads more we had never even thought about. It folds up nice and compact, the cary cot is safe for overnight sleeping and its relatively easy to convert to a pram (well it looked it when I was shown how to) One thing I would say though almost every single shop we were in mentioned the compatibility of said pram with certain car seats for doubling up for the next one (more than once). So get ready fo that. It made me break out in a sweat every time.

But anyway we ended up getting a really good deal with a few accessories to go with the pram, along with the adapters, I already knew I wanted the duo pod (foot muff) and obviously I needed the coffee cup holder (Who doesn’t!!) and in along with the deal was a parasol, and the clips to go with them. As well as a really handy basket bag.

So now we wait patiently for our new arrival. Kiddies corner will assemble our pram and do all the safety checks before we pick it up, which I think is a really good idea because the thought of us trying to assemble a pram makes me very nervous! This is one of the reasons I didn’t purchase online.

Kiddies Corner held our pram for us until about 10 days before our due date and had everything assembled and explained everything for us again. And I know when we are converting to the push chair stage they’re there if we need a hand.

So one month in and I have to say I LOVE our pram! It is super easy to pop in and out of the boot, the car seat slots in quickly and handy. It still makes me smile every time I look at it. And Baby Mitch seems to think it’s comfy too! We use the carry cot as our day time Moses basket and for when we get out and about for a long day or walks about.

The one thing I will say is the adapters for the car seat and carry cot have to be removed before you can fold it down. But hopefully we’ll get the hang of remembering that soon!

I hope this helps someone on their quest for the perfect pram.

XOXO OfficialJudeMitch

Colour fade!!

Hair, lifestyle

Let’s talk about colour fade. I know this is a pesky problem almost ever person who colours their hair faces at one stage or another! And with our out of the ordinary weather we’re having over here in NI we’re seeing an awful lot more lately.

From blondes that get an ashy or pearly toner, pastel shades right up to rainbow hair there’s so much we’re doing that adds to colour fade!

1- The sun, even when we think we aren’t getting any or much this affects your colour, ever wonder why when your hair is down along the parting is a completely different colour to the back or lower sections of your hair? That’s the sun!! Ghd make a brill uv heat protection spray, to protect from not only your styling tools but also the sun! if you’re going to be out and about in the sun try and protect it from sun damage!

2- OBVIOUSLY your shampoo choice makes a difference! Ask your hairdresser what they recommend. For me I’m loving the MATRIX Keep Me Vivid Range, both on my own hair and the results from clients is amazing! If you are using certain shampoos or products on your hair you could be creating a build up or a fine layer of shampoo, conditioner or product that actually acts as a barrier towards your colour making it harder to penetrate your hair and also making the colour result unpredictable.

3- Heat Damage! This is probably one of the biggest offenders! Straightening that front piece of hair fifty times a week will weaken your hair and then it will inevitably loose colour because you’re damaging it and it can no longer hold onto your colour like it should! If you’re going to use any heat (straighteners, tongs, wands, hairdryers or even heated rollers) near your hair USE A HEAT PROTECTOR!!

4- General wear and tear. I’m talking to you mrs hun bun, don’t get we wrong a bun is quite possibly the easiest way to get your hair out of your way, but doing it repeatedly over time will weaken it and cause damage around where the bobble is, not to mention when you don’t brush it for days, tugging away will break and damage your hair further…. and you guessed it this leads to colour fade! Prevent this by trying out different styles, plaits are hard to beat and we have no excuses with the amount of affordable hair accessories available now!

5- Over processed hair! Hair that has been coloured and coloured over and over! This is different to getting your roots done often. When you colour your natural hair you create a chemical reaction and change the structure of your hair, if this fades you do not need to re colour with the same colour as this is changing the chemical structure of your hair. It should be noted now that once you have broken ends there is NO way to ‘heal’ them! You simply need to call your hairdresser stat and get a trim or cut booked!!

Certain colours will fade quicker than others and it does depend on what your hair condition is like to start with! I am always reluctant to colour badly damaged hair as it will weaken it further!

Blues are going to fade first! Blue has the biggest colour molecules so they will leave your hair first, so if you have a silver, platinum, purple, pink or ashy colour the blue will fade and leave you with a warmer or brassy colour.

Bright colours will fade or wash out over time, pastel colours because they’re usually on more porous hair might wash out super quick.I always recommend in between toners and a good aftercare package with all colours especially a bright or vivid colour!

So basically what I’m saying is your hair is going to fade and we should all be doing our best to keep it bright and vibrant!

Xoxo OfficialJudeMitch

Why I think Mrs Hinch is a bad influence

Household

Yes I know this may be a bit controversial but it’s something that has been on my mind for quite a while! And the more I think about it the more it actually angers me!

For those that don’t know Mrs Hinch aka Sophie Hinchcliffe is an Instagram Influenser and now an author. And she basically has gained a flock of ‘hinchers’ by cleaning her house on camera! She is one among a number of Instagrammers that insist on showing us how they clean their house! I’m sorry some of us don’t even have time to clean our own never mind watch you clean yours!

I for one don’t know how she does it because as much as I love giving my house a good cleaning and creating content for Instagram, I certainly don’t have the time or patience to show cleaning my house on camera! I do see she is helping a lot of people in the country by getting them up of their backsides and cleaning their houses! (But should we really need someone to Influence us to do something we should be doing on a daily or weekly basis anyway??) But the ‘Hinch hauls’ that you see actually make me feel sick! People stockpiling Zoflora and the pink stuff so they have a 20 year supply (and leaving none on the shelf for anybody else) is just plain selfish and silly!! You’ll probably not be here for 20 more years if you continue to gas yourself while you’re cleaning your shower! You should not and do not need a storeroom full of cleaning solutions and gadgets.

She is encouraging her ‘Hinch army’ to make Chemical concoctions that are concerning at least, never mind her frequent Hospital visits and also showing us her using fabric conditioner and Zoflora in a very hazardous way, especially when their product guidance clearly states not to. Some of the brands she has promoted have now had to release public statements warning their customers not to do what she is suggesting is a good tip or trick! Check out Zoflora’s safety highlights on Instagram.

Don’t get me started on her advertising standard no no’s either. I for one am getting fed up of her making a mint from her followers some of which are vulnerable to her influence. Spending hundreds and thousands in not just cleaning products they don’t need but now household items, all just to keep up with the Joneses in order to portray a household similar to hers.

I worry that the likes of Mrs Hinch are encouraging selfish hoarding and the use if way too many chemicals in the home. And that is why I think she is a Bad Influence.

I’m not saying ditch the chemicals as such, I’m saying just because someone is mixing them and using them on Instagram doesn’t mean we should all follow suit, do a little research yourself and read the manufacture instructions first!

That’s enough lecturing from me

xoxo OFFICIALJUDEMITCH

I’m pregnant

Bump and Baby, lifestyle, Uncategorized

I’m PREGNANT , I’m actually pregnant! I never in a million years thought I would be saying (or writing) that! And it feels so exciting writing it!!

Baby Mitchell is due early December 2019, and we couldn’t be happier! Part of me was dying to announce our happy news and another part of me has really enjoyed having a little secret kept from my social media! Obviously all my family and friend knew.

But anyway the secrets out!

We announced it on our facebook pages yesterday with this picture and a few suggestive hashtags.

As always there is always the worry that until baby is in our arms we’re not out of the woods just yet. But thankfully so far everything has been going good.

Apart from me having a meltdown Practically daily about something new that has popped into my head and I can’t seem to relax until I have researched it.

The list starts with

1- I drive a two seater car! Should I buy something more practical? But I can’t seem to see anything I like more than my own car. I’ve been going back and forth with this but can’t come to a decision. Or I probably wont for a while.

2- Baby seats!! I think I may have finally (after many a google search) found the safest one I can find! …. or have I?

3- Prams! Like how are you supposed to decide on a pram, there are sooooo many cool prams but how do I know I’m not going to get fed up of it in two weeks! (Also my car seems to have a pretty small boot)

4- Childcare! This is really worrying me atm. I have been researching every childcare facility within a 20 mile radius! Still no further on!

5- Do I really need a bottle maker, a bedside crib, an electric bouncer, a £250 breast pump? … the list goes on! This just makes my brain hurt! There is sooooooo much to buy, so many gadgets and cool looking accessories. Where do you even start? (I’m hoping for a good Black Friday haul)

6- Will I be back to work for Christmas Eve? My favourite day of the year in the salon! Along with hundreds of other work related concerns. (Will my clients huff because I’m missing Christmas?)

7- How will my little Fur babies cope when they’re not my babies anymore? how will they act when there is an actual real life baby in the house? (How will I act?)

Despite all my worries and queries I’m still very excited and it is actually the weirdest/ happiest/ strangest feeling and I feel like I am on a bit of an Emotional Rollercoaster from time to time! I’ve been getting loads of tips and tricks from Friends/ Clients and Family already and it’s great to hear from new mums and other mums to be. Since I found out I was Pregnant I’ve been watching out for other mums to be announcing they’re good news. And I’m loving watching their journeys along with mine!

Off course all other baby related tips and help is appreciated!

Xoxo OfficiaJudeMitch

Tunisia Travel Tips

Travel

So we are just back from our holidays in Tunisia, we had a great time and the weather was perfect. But it was our first time there and I really wish we were a little more prepared. I had been told bits and pieces by a few people but there was so much more I wished we had known. So here are my top travel tips for Tunisia.

1- Bring a pen in your hand luggage! When you arrive you will have to fill out a form before you go through passport control. They will take one half and you need to keep the other part safe until your return. We didn’t know this and we along with most of our flight were very confused when we arrived!

2- Bring snacks… the food isn’t great. So if you’re dying for something tasty you may bring it with you! I did however get my hands on a mars bar in our hotel shop! I felt like I won the lottery! (It was nothing compared to the packet of pringles I had on the flight home)

3- Maybe bring some Toilet roll, one thing I can’t stand is crap toilet roll and Tunisia has a serious lack of decent toilet paper! (and toilet cleanliness too) and by day 5 my bum was crying out for some andrex!

4- Don’t feed the animals– If you go to the zoo, only feed the animals they have signs for! You’ll be propositioned and almost manhandled into feeding the animals…then shouted at if you don’t ‘tip’ the staff! Just say NO! They’ll be hiding in the bushes and everything!

5- Be prepared to tip, everybody! They guy who brings your cases up, the guy that waits on you, The zoo workers hiding in the bushes, the taxi driver that nearly kilt you, the bus drivers, the tour guides everybody!!

6- Stay Hydrated! Water is your friend! But keep to bottled water and NO ice. as their water is highly chlorinated.

7- Bring your money (English notes) and exchange it there, they also accept sterling in some places! Our hotel exchanged our money for us, but any leftovers you can exchange at the airport on your way home. (we went CIP which I would highly recommend as it cuts out a lot of the queues – Ask your holiday rep for more details)

8- The markets are not like the normal ‘holiday markets’ they are a bit mental and not for everyone. But I am glad we went, We opted for the half day trip that included the wine tasting and a stop off at a pottery store. I really enjoyed both even though I don’t drink wine I thoroughly enjoyed the nibbles that went along with it!

Hopefully this is helpful to someone, and if anyone has any other tips please pop them in the comments below for others.

XOXO OfficialJudeMitch

The ‘first eight weeks’

Bump and Baby, Mental health

Ok so for anyone who is pregnant or it is trying to get pregnant, this one is for you!!

So you’re pregnant! Now what? If you’re like me when you took your test at home, you just couldn’t believe the result. And had to hot foot it to the doctors for a ‘proper test’.

Then waited a day or so for the results… even though you knew the answer! When you are finally told that you are in fact actually pregnant! The first question in my head was… ‘now what?’

Well the lady on the phone laughed…. she actually laughed at me and eventually said ‘good question’ as if even she didn’t know what to do next. I found this both strange and very frustrating, as obviously I didn’t know the protocol or rules about what to do next.

Eventually I found out that there was a form to be filled in, and that goes to the midwives.

And now you wait! Until you’re at least 8 weeks. This is the most frustrating few weeks of your whole pregnancy! You know you are pregnant but every now and again you question if you really are (like the sickness and all other pregnancy symptoms isn’t enough of a clue)

I googled almost every day the statistics, downloaded possibly every pregnancy tracking app! Bought (and spent a fortune on) every possible pregnancy vitamin or supplement! I bought books I watched videos!

But I could not settle until I had my appointment booked! Now the midwives I spoke to were not always as helpful as you would expect or want. And didn’t fully explain why they couldn’t see you sooner, but anyway this is a list of things I chose to do when I started to feel anxious or was worried about the wait.

1- Planned what I was going to ask when I got to see the midwife. You have a bunch of questions and if you’re like me you’ll forget once you arrive to your appointment. (One thing I hadn’t thought of was what hospital I wanted to go to)

2- I Tried my hardest to eat a healthy diet to feed and grow little baba to the best of my ability.

3- Slept! A LOT! you are very tired, so get all the sleep you can! You’re growing a tiny human!!

4- Relax, I know, I know it’s easier said than done! Try to Read books, preferably ones that will distract you from wondering how little one is growing and doing. Watch Movies, start a new series. this all distracts you from the wondering.

5- Plan for the Future. I was researching prams and car seats from the minute I found out I think, and they aint cheap. So I was planning saving up and hoping I had a stash for when I took some time off.

6- Enjoy some time with hubby, when you DON’T talk about baby. this is definitely hard to do.

When you have your First Appointment with the midwife take all the leaflets and booklets this will also help to feed your curiosity in the weeks coming up to your next appointment.

I hope this helps someone in the ‘first eight weeks’ If you have any other tips let me know!

XOXO OfficialJudeMitch

Why I love Zoflora!!

Household

If you haven’t heard of Zoflora where have you been? This little bottle of magic is an essential in every home! And has hundreds of uses inside, outside and around the home. I’m finding new uses daily.

It’s extremely hard to get your hands on Zoflora now thanks to Mrs Hinch Home tho, so I regularly stock up when I can get my hands on it, as I like to have a selection of scents at hand to suit my mood. The lovely people at Zoflora very kindly sent me a lil package recently with the new limited edition scent Hello Spring and a spray bottle that will come in super handy!!

A few of my favourite scents are country garden, lavender and fresh bouquet, I’ve recently received ‘Hello Spring’ (LOVE it) and I’ve also been on the look out for ‘Fresh Home’

It has hundreds of uses! I mainly use it for at home cleaning, diluted in a spray bottle but this lil bad boy has loads of uses some of my favourites are:

1: Add a capful into your mop bucket (or a diluted mixture into your steam mop) to disinfectant clean your floors.

2: Dilute in a spray bottle for a handy disinfectant cleaner/surface spray.

3: After you clean your toilet add a capful to your toilet and leave overnight or when your at work

4: Add a cap to your toilet brush holder.

5: Use your spray bottle to clean your radiators and the smell is amazing.

6: Revamp your reed diffusers with a little diluted Zoflora in the bottle.

7: Fill your sink with water and add a capful, use this as your cleaning solution with a cloth or leave overnight or when you are at work to fragrance your room!

On my to try list is:

1: Add some to a cotton pad and ooo at the bottom of your bins. (Think this will be great for the basket bins in my toilets)

2: Adding it to your old scentless car air fresheners.

3: Spray it on your welcome mat and in old shoes!

4: Spray some diluted zoflora on your mattress.

Zoflora is available in a range of shops from home bargains, £ shops and online. Lately I’ve been finding it online as it’s so hard to get the fragrance you want in store. Here’s the latest link I’ve been using to find my Zoflora online this is a fantastic website I’ve discovered lately with loads of other great offers every day Latest Deals!

I’d love to hear some of your suggestions or tips and tricks to using Zoflora.

XOXO OfficialJudeMitch

My hair colour Transformation

Hair

I’ve been thinking about going a bit brighter for a while now, I had added more brighter foils to my balayage the past few colours. But come January I was itching for a proper colour makeover. so I went for it! I knew it was going to be a looooong process and prepared myself. Here’s the run down of everything we done and prices for you to give you an idea of the process and upkeep.

Firstly since my last colour (23rd Dec) I’ve been using the MATRIX rebond 3 step system. and doing an intense treatment at least once a week to keep my hair in tip top nick. Because I knew it was going to have to be lightened significantly for my desired colour.

The day before my colour I got all my extensions removed.

The morning of my colour I washed my hair so it was fresh and had no build up before my colour.

Firstly, Natalie pre lightened my hair leaving a gap at my roots where my natural hair was. this process took about an hour and would cost £40.00 – £60.00

after that had processed, it was rinsed out and dried off, we went in with a bright red colour on my roots, an extra £40

then when that was rinsed off we applied MATRIX cult in Red Hot and Orange Alert. £40

When that had developed, Natalie Washed and blow dried my hair. I FRIGGIN LOVE IT!!!

a few days later my new extensions arrived and we coloured them to match my hair £15

when we got time again (1 week after my colour) Natalie applied my new extensions and styled my hair! £50 (20 tape ins applied and styled)

So far the total bill for my hair is £205 and every 2-3 weeks or if I have an event or outing I will top up my hair with the cult colour £40 ideally I would be getting my roots done every 3 weeks (as I hate roots) but time doesn’t always allow that in the salon so we’ll aim for every 4 £40.

my home care is the MATRIX biolage keratindose shampoo and conditioner and a weekly re-bond treatment.

so that’s an additional £25-65 per month and £50-60 for take home products (that will last ages) so you see guys, great hair doesn’t happen by accident!! it happens when you look after it with a proper home care routine and regularly top up and refresh your professionally coloured hair in a salon.

you can see my transformation here Colour Transformation Video

High Maintenance Facebook Page

Before