Wednesday 28 December 2016

My 2017 Goals


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Friday 23 December 2016

December Product Review

Boy you're in for a treat this month! As usual every month I try out new products, this month I tried new products from The Body Shop, Hello Day Planners, Jo Browne and Elave Skincare. I can't fault any of these products (thank god because finding products you hate is never fun).
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Saturday 10 December 2016

Gift Guide for Him and Her



Christmas is here! Have you done your shopping yet? Are you as bad as I am doing your shopping last minute? Well I have compiled a fool proof gift guide for him and her this Christmas. Be it your mom, dad, brother, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend there's something here for everyone! I am awing over so many things on this list. I have compiled pictures and links to every product shown. Happy shopping!
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Wednesday 7 December 2016

Buth Bheag Candle Co. #ad


If you know me well, you know I love love love candles! I reviewed candles for Buth Bheag Candle co. a few months ago, and I loved them, so when they contacted me again to collaborate I knew what was to come was going to be of excellent quality.
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Wednesday 30 November 2016

Tuesday 22 November 2016

November Product Review

This month’s product review is all positive. YAY.
So let us get started!
💜
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Monday 14 November 2016

10 Rules you Must Know Before Going to Italy.

Trying to fit in in Italy can be challenging. One thing you must know. Italians are extremely proud of their culture (like we all are) but if you don't follow these tips you won't experience the magic of Italy. Italy has a huge tourist industry, if you get into the wrong side of it you won't experience "la bella vita" at all.

 Duomo, Milan
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Friday 21 October 2016

October Product Review


As I write my October Product review I stare out the window at the many green fields of Ireland. The sun is shining and I am overcome with happiness as in 2 hours I will be at the airport collecting Davide after not having seen each other for over 2 months.
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Thursday 13 October 2016

Tuesday 4 October 2016

Interview with one of Ireland's Best Travel Bloggers: Travelorlabout

Hello lovelies!

Today I'm changing things up a bit on the blog. I had the chance to interview the gorgeous Orla from Travelorlabout. Her blog is all about her travel experiences and my god is it travel goals! So today I'm sharing all the tips she has for travel whilst also touching on the crazy situations she has been in, I couldn't believe just how crazy they were! hahaha


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Wednesday 28 September 2016

September Product Review.


It's been a while since I reviewed products for you guys. My September review will cover products from Ziaja skincare, Declare, Bottega Verde and to change it up a little also a pair of shoes from New Look.


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Thursday 15 September 2016

5 Ways To Get Your Motivation Back This Autumn.


Summer is officially over and it's back to the grind of work, college or school. I know many of you feel like it's torture and you may be extremely unmotivated to get back to things after sipping cocktails on the beach for the last few weeks. For me I like getting back into the grind of everything. I was so excited to get back to college and to start blogging from Ireland again (don't get me wrong my heart aches thinking I'm back from Italy) I just knew from day one, this year will be my year! I must admit getting my head around college the first week was a lot but I've finally caught up and I'm ready for the whole year. Today I am sharing my top 5 tips to get your motivation back this Autumn.




1. Set Goals! Getting back to into the grind can be very difficult if you are not striving for something whether it's aiming to pass an exam or aiming to grow your business this year. Setting goals is necessary. Imagine yourself in 5 years time, where would you like to see yourself? And what would have liked to have done in that time period? I have a goals list and I always love adding to it, every time I add to the list I get more motivated to complete the tasks, especially ticking them off, it's the biggest satisfaction!

2. Treat Yourself! It's hard to stay motivated if you are not rewarding yourself for small and big accomplishments, I believe if you know you will be rewarded with a spa day, chocolate at the weekend or dinner with the girls you are more likely to be more productive during the week. Always have something to look forward to, this way working won't seem too bad.

3. De-Clutter! One thing I hate the most is clutter. I cannot study or work in a toxic environment, I have to have a clear space accompanied by a cup of green tea. If my mind is clear I can focus and be more productive. So make sure your work area is clutter free and tidy, even decorate it to your personality to make you relaxed.

4. Get a Journal! Organisation!!! As I just spoke about clutter and being tidy, organisation goes hand in hand with it. I suggest getting a journal, or 2! I have two journals, one for my daily life and the other to brainstorm Blog ideas. I have to write every inch of my life in these so I feel on top of things. If I don't write something, I will be very stressed and feel behind. My journal keeps me very motivated because I can see all of the progress I have made and all the amazing things I have planned to do. It really makes you feel empowered!

5. Why. This is a great word. Why are you doing what you're doing? Why keep going? Why do you want this? Always ask yourself these questions when you are feeling unmotivated. You will see the big picture and know it's all worth it. Trust me everyone even the big guys get unmotivated but thinking about the word "WHY" helps them all keep going. Anything is possible.


Let's all get that motivation back and get stuck in!


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Saturday 10 September 2016

Cloggers Bloggers Event

If you have been keeping up with me on my Snapchat: CiaraSwalsh and my Instagram you will know that I was in Cork recently attending the Cloggers Blogger Event in the gorgeous Clarion Hotel. A fab day spent with fab ladies in a fab location!







Dress: Boohoo
Shoes: Public Desire
I have links to this whole outfit on my Twitter and Facebook
Photo: Michelle Walsh.
Hazel's Nuts about Vintage
TRND Beauty
On the day some great brands set up stalls for us to check out their products this included; the fabulous girls from Trnd Beauty, Stella & Dot, The Body Shop, Hazel's Nuts about Vintage (I bought two chokers from there for only €14), Ethical Souls Boutique, Provoc Makeup, Beautique Salon in Cork, and more.
The lovely Meaghers Pharmacy kindly chose me for best tweet of the day and I won a very generous hamper full of products to try. Did you see the products on my Snapchat? Photo: Erich Stack
And what's an event without an Instagram selfie station? We had such a ball taking pictures with it (I was extra excited because embarrassingly, I've always wanted a picture with one haha). Marie and Shell really paid attention to detail for this event! Photo: Erich Stack
Erick Stack was our photographer for the day which was such a bonus because he really captured the atmosphere of this event. You can find his Instagram here.

So what did we do exactly?

We had numerous speakers during the day, our first speaker was Niamh Sweeney from the derma-cosmeceutical brand, Nimue. It was so interesting learning about how this brand started and how only trained professionals can carry out beauty treatments using Nimue products. Niamh was so kind to give us a bottle of the Nimue SPF50 and 30 to try out.

Our second speaker was Naomi Sirmans owner of Mosaic Marketing, who taught us all about marketing strategies. we learned all about growing our following and getting engagement from our followers. Such an interesting talk!

Third was the beautiful Rosemary Mac Cabe! It was such a pleasure to listen to her career path up until now, she had us in stitches laughing. We also had the opportunity to have a Q&A with Rosemary and she also thought us about blog growth, a tip she had for us? Writing great content for your blog is key to gather engagement. You guys have to follow her on Snapchat because you'll fall in love with her! @rosemarymaccabe

Our last speaker was the lovely Lucie Pouilly from Lucie al Portraits, she is a self thought photographer who's mission is to make women feel beautiful and empowered through their beauty captured through her lens. She even gave us tips on getting great lighting for that perfect selfie!

The day ended with a small Fashion show, showcasing pieces from boutiques around Cork including Ethical Souls and Suzsa who attended the event. This was followed by a makeup demo by Inglot!

Overall I absolutely loved the Cloggers Blogger Event and I can't wait for their next one. As I said above, I met amazing ladies with the same love for blogging as myself. Marie and Shell did an amazing job, it ran so smoothly and I could feel the happiness of everyone in the room that day. Oh and I can't forget the amazing goodie-bags they put together for us!

Check them out on Facebook and Instagram @CloggersBloggers

Chat soon!


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Saturday 3 September 2016

Elegance: Low V-Neck


I love elegance, I always aim to buy clothes that will make me feel elegant and classy. Nothing says empowerment than a woman dressed in a classy attire. I bought this incredible Low V-neck Playsuit last year in Terracina, Italy in a small boutique called White 120. If you ever find yourself there check them out because their clothes are so cheap! I remember buying this for about €17 at the time. Ever see that amazing dress, shoes, coat in the shop window and say "this baby will be mine!", well when I saw this piece it was love at first sight.



As you can see I wore this piece recently when I took a trip to Gallipoli, I always believe in recycling outfits especially this classy and elegant piece. I believe a garment like this is timeless, and I will most definitely wear it next year when I go on holidays. It's definitely not something I could wear in Ireland with the cold!!


I paired this look with Primark sandals and my timeless leather Chanel inspired handbag I bought in a leather shop in Venice for about €40. You could also pair this outfit with some classy ankle strap heels.
I will link 4 similar pieces below:

Happy Shopping girls!

Chat soon,


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Monday 29 August 2016

Why I am grateful for my Year Abroad

I am back in the Emerald Isle after one amazing whole year in (in my opinion) one of the most beautiful countries, Italy. I have travelled to the north, to the centre and to the south, I've felt the cold snow on the slopes of the Appennines and I've relaxed under the hot sun on the beaches in Puglia, I've been in the country side of Umbria, to busy cities like Rome, Florence, Bologna, Naples and Venice. I've climbed Mount Vesuvius and seen the ruins of Pompeii, I've been so far north all the way to Bolzano where they speak German and I've even travelled to the island of Capri. And this is just to name but a few, then I have seen a lot of the smaller beautiful cities in between (as you have most definitely seen in all my Blog posts this year).
But I have much more travelling to do in Italy before I see it all. It's so big and beautiful that each city is like entering a new country because the north, centre and south are so diverse from one another.
I may have moved back to Ireland but this year abroad has changed me so much as a person and now I can also call Italy my home.
The first feelings I had after returning to Ireland were that I identified Bologna/Rome as my home. I would think, I need to go home, when in reality I was in fact at home! But what is it they say? Home is where the heart is?
They say returning from Erasmus can be quite difficult, and in fact every ex Erasmus student has told me this including my Italian teacher who did his Erasmus in Dublin! You have to consider whatever country you go to on Erasmus, they have different cultures and societies. For me I am accustomed to the Italian way of life not the Irish so returning here was a slight culture shock for me,
I also remember the first 2 weeks I had in Italy I also encountered this culture shock and an overwhelming sense of homesickness. But when i settled in I was loving every minute of it. So as you can guess I'm homesick for beautiful Italy.






The people I met on my year abroad hold a very special place in my heart. I now have friends from all over the world, America, Germany, Turkey, Australia, Brasil, England, Scotland, Italy (of course haha), Iran, Poland, New Zealand, Ukraine, I began to learn about their cultures too which has really opened my eyes and opened my mind.
As I said in one of my posts before the Ciara of today is definitely not the Ciara of last year. I have grown in so many ways. I have only realised how much I have changed since coming home to Ireland. I am so grateful for this because I realised I was living an ignorant life, I am now so open to other cultures and learning and accepting their ways of life and knowing that if you don't like one aspect of your own society, it probably isn't like that in another society. So don't feel the pressure of your countries social norms, life is not about doing what others do, life is about what you feel comfortable doing. As I had a group of friends from different ethnic groups we never felt the pressure from each others social norms, as we all accepted each other for who we were.








I am grateful for the memories I have made with everyone I have encountered from the first semester to the second semester. I am grateful for becoming closer with the people I came on Erasmus with. I'm also grateful I continued friendships with my Italian friends I met while they were on Erasmus in Galway last year. Through all of these amazing friends I have made the best memories I will treasure forever.

As well as making amazing friends, I am also so grateful to have had the chance to maintain the relationships I already had in Italy. I have already done 10 months long distance with Davide before moving to Italy so spending a year abroad gave us the chance to live the life of a normal couple, we are both so grateful for that. Due to the fact I have become very good in spoken Italian we can also comunicate in two languages now! It's great! 







Every Sunday I attended an international dinner at a friends house, each week a specific country would cook their traditional food. It was probably the highlight of my Erasmus because there, I met people I will never forget and friends I will never lose.

So here is a few points on why I urge everyone who has the opportunity, to go on Erasmus! If not at least just live abroad for a year:

1. You will learn about a whole new culture.
2. You meet amazing people and will make friends for life!
3. You have the ability to travel the whole country and discover beautiful cities.
4. The food!! (That's if you're lucky enough to go to Italy haha)
5. You will learn the language.
6. It will change you in ways you could never imagine (don't worry this is a good thing)
7. You will return home feeling less pressured by social norms.
8. You will have a place to stay in so many countries (international friends are great for this)
9. Independence and maturity.
10. It looks amazing on your cv, imagine being able to work abroad in the future due to the experience you have living abroad and learning that language!


I will miss everything but I know I will be back to live in Italy again.


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