HomeArchives2017March

Monthly Archives: March 2017

by

These days, we're all storytellers, right?

Whether it's on Snapchat, Twitter or Instagram, we all have something to say or a story to share.

And like everything else in life, some people simply do it better than others.

Whether it's their contribution to the fitfam, foodie or fashion worlds, this country is falling over itself with rising stars, and while we may check out their uploads on the daily, how often do we properly take their efforts into account?

The SHEmazing Awards is seeking to honour the people who have made a serious splash across the realms of fashion, beauty, lifestyle and entertainment in the last 12 months, and we can't do it without your help.

But if you're a little stumped as to the criteria needed to crown your favourite social media personalty, style expert or social activist, check out these top three tips!

Do you check their feeds on the daily?

If you check in on your favourite style queen, fitfammer or foodie as regular as your own mates, it might be time to have your say and vote for them in the appropriate category.

Show them that the time and effort they put into their work is not going unnoticed!

Have you mentioned them to friends?

If you have sent links of their uploads to friends and family, and urged them to follow ASAP, you need to get voting pronto.

And your friends and family do too!

Do they inspire, galvanise or entertain you?

If their uploads regularly engage, fascinate or captivate, they are definitely in the running for one of our highly sought-after gongs in May.

Hop over to our voting page, and make sure that the people who influence and energise you are given a fair crack of the whip at the inaugural SHEmazing Awards!

 

Trending

My sister was born in July of 2006 and I turned 12 that August – and for most families that's a huge gap.

But in this day and age, families come in all shapes, sizes and ages.

So, if your brother or sister was born years after you first emerged on the planet, here are 8 truths you'll know to be true:

1. People will think you're the mother

And considering I still look about 12 and she's now 10-years-old, people get seriously confused.

You will mostly play along when people call you 'mam', but still get a little freaked out.

Image result for freaked out gif

 

2. Even nurses are mistaken

The first day I went to visit my sister in hospital, my mam popped out to the loo and I was holding Áine in my arms. The nurse then came by and STARED at me and said, "I've seen mothers young, but not that young."

Erm… OK? Check yo' facts, woman…

Image result for you're mistaken gif

 

3. You hear about your friends fighting with their siblings and wonder what the fuss is about

Because there's such a big gap, you probably moved out of home a few years after they were born, so you never clashed while growing up.

Don't get me wrong, I still argue with my sister, but stories of sibling rivalry really amuse me.

Image result for what's the big deal gif

 

4. They have it SO lucky

Your parents basically tested everything out on you and if they thought some activity was too dangerous to do, you weren't allowed do it.

But, at this stage everything has been tried and tested, and your parents realise that no, she won't die if she gets a pair of rollerskates.

(Yep, rollerskates were too dangerous for me so I had to RUN beside all the other kids skating down to school… thanks, mam.)

Image result for simpsons panting gif

 

5. If you were an only child beforehand, having a sibling (at first) was seriously weird

Who is this person who just came screaming into the family? How do I hol… oh crap, I just bashed her head against the wall.

You just weren't used to looking after another person…

Image result for the fuck is that gif

 

6. You're basically their cooler, younger parent

You worry about them non-stop, but are way more understanding (and chill) than your parents.

And if your sibling can't get around your mam or dad, you can bet they'll come to you next. And you, of course, will give in.

Image result for wink gif

 

7. You still hold their hand

Since you were old enough to remember them being born and you saw them growing up, you're fiercely protective.

And if you drop them off at school, you still give them a kiss goodbye even though it's SO not cool *death stares being sent your way from the school gates*

Image result for kid side eye gif

 

8. But honestly, they'll always be your baby

You have a special bond with them that absolutely nobody else has.

And even though there's years between you, you just get each other and will always be there for each other.

Image result for sister hugging gif

 

 Oh, and while we have you; don't forget to have your say in the inaugural SHEmazing Awards this May! It's time to vote, and you can do it right here!

Trending

by

If you're heading to see Stormzy in the Olympia tomorrow night, you may be excited to know that an absolutely unreal mural has been erected in his honour in Dublin city. 

The huge piece of street art has been garnering attention on social media all day, and fans are loving it. 

 

A post shared by Pedro Almeida (@pedroo.aalmeida) on  

The giant mural is located in Smithfield, and it's well worth going to have a look at. 

Stormzy himself has seen the piece, and has paid homage to it on his Facebook page.

Thanking the artists, the hip hop star said "I don't know who's responsible for this but thank you and tomorrow is gonna be MAD."(sic)

Tickets for his gig are already sold out, but the grime artist is also headlining on the Friday night at Longitude at Marlay Park on July 14.

Stormzy will be headlining alongside The Weeknd and Mumford & Sons.

They will be joined by the likes of Skepta, Baaba Maal, Glass Animals, Lucy Rose and Catfish and the Bottlemen. 

Oh, and while we have you; don't forget to have your say in the inaugural SHEmazing Awards this May! It's time to vote, and you can do it right here!

Trending

by

Niall Horan is a national treasure, but he's been looking across the channel for a potential love match.

Gerodie Shore's Marnie Simpson, who recently went through a break up with her ex Lewis Bloor, has been sliding into the 1D star's DMs, but Niall isn't the only one she's been corresponding with. 

Marnie has also gotten chatting to X Factor singer James Arthur. 

 

A post shared by Marnie. (@marniegshore) on

"I’ve been speaking to them. We’ve said hello and I’ve spoken over DMs with both of them," the Geordie star told The Sun.

The Mullingar man is a fan of the show, according to Marnie, and the pair have been chatting about it, though Marnie insists that it is just "friendly."

 

A post shared by Niall Horan (@niallhoran) on

Marnie is still separated  from Lewis Bloor after it was revealed that her cheated on her.

We think Niall is a much better option, Marns. 

Trending

by

Most internet trends involve ice buckets or no makeup selfies, but there is one fiscal challenge that has been doing the rounds over the past year or so that looks particularly interesting.

Rather than angling for likes on Facebook, the 30 Day No Spending Challenge focuses on benefiting your bank balance through sticking to a tight budget for four weeks. 

Plenty of bloggers and Youtubers have been taking up the challenge, and while they seem to find it difficult, they are reaping the monetary benefits. 

Consider for a moment how much money you'd save if you just gave up your daily Starbucks coffee for a month?

Well, the same idea applies to just about every little luxury you can think of. 

Most wannabe savers decide to spend just €50.00 a week for the month on everything, including travel and groceries.

Things like rent and utilities are omitted from the budget because they are necessities, and the spending challenge is all about saving up that disposable income. 

Things to cut out include eating out at restaurants, buying coffee, clothing shopping, and entertainment that isn't free. 

People who have managed to be super strict and follow the €50.00 budget per week have managed to get months ahead on loans, save up for dream holidays or that designer item they have been lusting over for months. 

If you always find yourself in the red at the end of the month, this challenge could be a good way to shock yourself into getting your finances in order. 

While €50.00 may not seem like a lot to spend on transport, food and toiletries, a little can go a long way. 

Simple things like bringing your lunch to work every day and batch cooking your dinners can help with the food spending freeze, and cycling or walking rather than getting taxis is a manageable way to make changes during the challenge. 

Deleting food delivery apps can also help eliminate any temptation from coming your way when you get those last minute takeaway cravings. 

You can also distract yourself by undertaking free activities like going to open air plays, spring cleaning, attending open mic nights, watching Netflix and taking up an exercise class via YouTube. 

With some bloggers saving up to €1000.00 after a month on the fiscal freeze, it's well worth a try. 

Oh, and while we have you; don't forget to have your say in the inaugural SHEmazing Awards this May! It's time to vote, and you can do it right here!

Trending

Whether you pre-pack some grub or head out to the deli on a daily basis, a sandwich is the perfect lunchtime staple.

However, loading the meat and mayo on isn't the healthiest – but, what's a girl to do if you just want something to fill your belly?

Well, actually there are a few tiny tweaks that you can make when putting your sandwich together that can save you on the carb, sugar and calorie front.

A few health professionals told Women's Health the best swaps, and here, we picked out the best five to make sure you get the most out of your lunchtime sambo:

1. Cheese please

"Replace your processed Swiss or American slices with creamy cashew cheese. It's vegan and replaces saturated fats with healthy ones, plus it's loaded with B vitamins, fiber, protein, and magnesium." —McKel Hill, R.D.

bread, delicious, food

 

2. A green makeover

"Give your egg salad a green makeover by mashing a ripe avocado in it—you'll get all the texture and cohesiveness of mayo, with bonus fiber and healthy fats." —Kayleen St John, R.D.

bread, breakfast, cheese

 

3. Spread it 

"Use hummus as a sandwich spread to reap the benefits of beans. The chickpea spread moistens your bread just as well, and is packed with plant protein, B vitamins, fiber, and iron, all of which help support a healthy heart and aid in weight management." – Holley Grainger, R.D. 

Image result for hummus sandwich instagram

 

4. Curb the carbs

"Get whole grain of course, but also be smart about the amount of bread making up your sandwich. Some rolls can equal four slices of bread." – Ellie Krieger, R.D

baking, bread, breakfast

 

5. Go veggie

"Layer grilled vegetables (like zucchini, onions, bell peppers) and tender herbs (like mint or basil) on your sandwiches, along with the usual lettuce and tomato, to add big flavor and texture with health benefits." —Ellie Krieger, R.D

avocado, bread, cutting board

 

Oh, and while we have you; don't forget to have your say in the inaugural SHEmazing Awards this May! It's time to vote, and you can do it right here!

Trending

by

If you fancy yourself a bit of a budding TV star, then this opportunity is right up your street!

Leading Irish car insurance company, its4women.ie, is looking for women from all across Ireland to star in its TV, print, digital and outdoor campaigns.

The theme is something we can all relate to – finding the perfect partner.

Image result for women driving

The campaign is aiming to feature everyday Irish women in its advertisements, and want the ladies to also share their experiences and insights into finding their perfect match.

Be it your best mate, your boyfriend or girlfriend, your mum or your favourite aunt, its4women.ie want you to spill your thoughts on life, love and laughter.

No matter where you're from or what your background, all women over the age of 21 are welcome to apply.

Close-up of Vintage Car

The campaign will be filmed in May before being rolled out screens and billboards in June.

To apply check out this website before April 12. You must be free to film on either May 3, 4 or 5 in Dublin.

Good luck!

Oh, and while we have you; don't forget to have your say in the inaugural SHEmazing Awards this May! It's time to vote, and you can do it right here!

Trending

by

Festival season is fast approaching, and with that in mind, iconic alternative festival Castlepalooza has released their second round of acts. 

Taking to the stage at Charleville Castel, Tullamore will be Le Boom, Thumper, Participant, Rosa Nutty, Phare, Cinema, Frankenstein Bolts, Wolff, and Video Blue.

Joining the line-up will be Show Fur, Damola, Apella, Nimino, Tu-Ki, Lumigraph, Apres Ski, Barry Redsetta, Aik J, Oh Boland, Let’s Sail and Robocobra Quartet.

The festival is clearly maintaining its reputation for bringing together an eclectic mix of homegrown and international music acts, artists and culinary experiences.

The newly announced acts will be performing alongside Aik J, Barry Redsetta, Baz Hickey, Beach, Beauty Sleep, Boca 45, Farrah Elle, Girl Band and Heroes in Hiding.

Other acts that have also been announced include Hvmmingbird, I Have A Tribe, King Bones, Let’s Sail, Lumo Club, Le Boom, Participant, Pete Isaac, Spud Gun; Shit Robot, Waze & Odyssey and Wild Beasts.

 

A post shared by Michael Burch (@iammichaelburch) on

The musical line up is supreme, and the comedy set is looking pretty well too. 

Colm O’Regan, Deirdre O’Kane, Fred Cooke, Kevin Mc Gahern, PJ Gallagher and Shane Clifford will all be sharing their comedic talent at the festivals Vodafone Laughter Lounge

The festival runs from Friday August 4 to Sunday August 6, with tickets priced at €119.00, and there are still more acts to be announced.

Oh, and while we have you; don't forget to have your say in the inaugural SHEmazing Awards this May! It's time to vote, and you can do it right here!

Feature image: Instagram/evadonlon

Trending

by

The Irish are known, the world over, as a nation of storytellers.

Our oral tradition dates back centuries, and for a country of its diminutive size, Ireland has produced some of the most celebrated writers, playwrights, poets and performers in history.

And while we may no longer employ the services of the traditional seanchaí, our day-to-day tradition of storytelling has in no way diminished.

Millennials may not gather friends and family around a fire and regale them with tales of yore, but they do partake in their own unique version of storytelling on a daily basis.

Whether it's through Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or with the help of their blog or vlog, this generation have made skillful use of the platforms available to them and ultimately proven themselves masters of storytelling.

The medium may have changed, but the tradition hasn't.

But at a time when our social media feeds are awash with stories from around the world, it's the storytellers who have honed the craft who truly stand out from the crowd.

Whether their story comes in the shape of a 140-character Twitter post, side-by-side Instagram upload or short and snappy Snapchat story, the person behind the story has considered their audience and played to their expectations.

You can argue that the advent of social media (and its multiple filters and edit/ delete functions) means the storyteller can present a certain version of their tale to the world ultimately rendering the 'story' less authentic, but that doesn't mean it's any less captivating or engaging.

We celebrate works of fiction in the same way we laud real-life stories. We pay tribute to scriptwriters in the same way we hail documentary-makers  And we praise painters in the same way we honour photographers.

Fact, fiction or filtered; if a story engages, it engages.

Whether the 'story' presented is an accurate representation of the individual's life is beside the point because if an audience decides it is sufficiently fascinated, it will come back for more.

An individual who presents the public with a warts-and-all version of their life is no more worthy of praise than a person who creates a visual or written narrative which niftily sidesteps the grimmer side of daily life.

A story is a story is a story.

As the SHEmazing Awards seek to illustrate, social media has created a whole new generation of storytellers, inspired a generation of creatives and given a voice to those whose story deserves a platform.

Oh, and while we have you; don't forget to have your say in the inaugural SHEmazing Awards this May! It's time to vote, and you can do it right here! 

 

Trending

by

We'd all like to have a little extra cash money on our hands, and one girl has discovered how to make Tinder a profitable endeavour in both the romantic and financial sense.

Maggie, from the USA, has come up with a crafty way to make some money from her matches, and it's pretty simple really. 

The college student simply changed her Tinder bio and the money came rolling in. 

Her bio requests that her matched send her five dollars, or around €4.60.

When the match asks her what the five bucks will get them, she gives a pretty elusive answer.

Maggie says "send it and find out" and provides them with her email associated with her PayPal account.

Pic: Twitter/ Maggiearch3r

The bio started as a joke, but Maggie quickly realised that it was a pretty nifty way to make some quick cash. 

"It's really a foolproof plan, because I'm not actually promising anything, I just say 'see what happens,'" she told BuzzFeed.

"A surprising amount of men take the bait," she said, which is evident when you look at the screenshot of her PayPal account that she posted to Twitter. 

 Pic: Twitter/ Maggiearch3r

So what does happen when a match send the five dollars? Well, Maggie promptly un-matches with them.

"Some men get creepy and assume if they offer a lot more, like hundreds, something will actually happen, which of course it doesn't," she said.

"I figured it was too funny not to share. Also, I wanted to give more women this idea to share the wealth."

Other women have actually tried out the ploy for themselves, some to great effect.

However, Tinder bros are catching on, as another women in the comments of Maggie's tweet gave it a go and got reported, leading to her Tinder account being deleted. 

Technically she's not doing anything wrong as she never promises the matches anything, but we're not sure the lads would feel the same way. 

Oh, and while we have you; don't forget to have your say in the inaugural SHEmazing Awards this May! It's time to vote, and you can do it right here!

Trending

by

In the wake of the Westminster attack, which left four dead, the wife of the attacker Khalid Masood has spoken out in a statement. 

Rohey Hydara has said she is “saddened” by the shocking event, and does not support him or his actions. 

“I am saddened and shocked by what Khalid has done," she said, according to The Guardian.

"I totally condemn his actions."

"I express my condolences to the families of the victims that have died, and wish a speedy recovery to all the injured."

"I would like to request privacy for our family, especially the children, at this difficult time,” she finished. 

Khalid Masood killed three people after he drove his car onto a footpath.

The fourth was a police officer who he stabbed to death. 

Trending

by

Okay, so most of us went through an emo phase when we were in our early teens.

Remember all the studded belts and stripy arm warmers mixed in with the scent of Impulse Tease and teenage angst? Yeah, that was us. 

So when we saw this emo parody of Donald Trump's speeches, we couldn't help but laugh. 

The song reminds us of all our favourite emo songs from the noughties, and it completely suits Trump and his rhetoric. 

With classic Trump lines like "Ive' never said I'm a perfect person, or pretended to be someone that I'm not," and "the American dream is dead, we are dying dying dying," the melodramatic words of the speeches perfectly suits the melancholic tone of the song. 

P!ATD and BMTH would be proud. 

Oh, and while we have you; don't forget to have your say in the inaugural SHEmazing Awards this May! It's time to vote, and you can do it right here!

Trending