Nothing to Wear

To be honest I was struggling this week to come up with a post that was going to be engaging to read and an issue that was something I felt strongly about. But Monday morning came and having wrecked my brain all weekend, when I opened my wardrobe doors the issue in question was basically staring me right in the face. Clothes.

So we all put some sort of garments on our bodies in the morning, women and men alike. We can't really go about our day without having something to wear, even if it is just a pair of Harry Potter pyjamas. The words 'I've got nothing to wear' escape my mouth on a weekly basis, as I'm sure you are all too familiar with. Even the men out there, I know that you know the struggles as well. Luckily I have a work uniform that I wear most days of the week or I would be always battling with my clothes to come up with new outfit ideas. Up until recently I was constantly fighting the urge to buy new clothes all of the time. Social media, in particular, adds massive pressure and a need to always have something new to wear. I will hold my hands up in saying that in the past I would have never wore the same outfit two days in a row. I mean what if someone passes remarks that the exact dress you wore yesterday, you are wearing today. But who actually cares?

As I was dressing myself on that Monday morning I tried on four, yes, FOUR different outfits as I knew I wanted to take a few photos for this blog post. After taking off the tenth piece of clothing and throwing it onto the floor, the red mist started to descend. Most women should be familiar with this red mist when trying to pick something to wear. Oh and a few choice words slipped out as well. But! After 5 minutes of some gentle breathing, I caught myself on. Is this really worth it? So I put on the same pair of boots and jeans I wore in my last blog post (shock horror) and threw on something I liked and not something that I think you might like. After all, the boots cost me £90 and I'm bloody well going to wear them to death. It's sad that, God forbid any bloggers out there wear the same outfit in a blog post!

OK, so I'm sure you are thinking, "Orlagh get off your high horse and stop the preaching." I just want to clarify that I love clothes. I always have. I love following trends. I love scrolling Instagram and seeing how other people put outfits together. I love seeking inspiration from Pinterest. And I love seeing the delivery man coming with my recent clothing purchases. Have we established that I love fashion? My degree was in fashion design for flip sake, so I'm not going to say that I suddenly don't enjoy fashion and not buying clothes. Because I do.

But after listening to a podcast recently called 'Girls with Goals' my perception of fashion and clothing consumption has changed slightly. The episode titled 'Change is coming' discusses ethical fashion and the Repeal the 8th movement, with Aisling Bea and Angela Scanlon; two women I urge you to follow on social media. I'll not ruin the specifics of what is debated in case you want to give it a listen yourself, but it basically outlines how we all need to be more conscientious about our fashion choices.

So some of you may disagree with me when I say that females are the drivers of fashion in this world. I think it's pretty much a given.  Our vast consumption of clothes is a female problem. The amount of female fashion bloggers out there is proof of that. And we don't realise the extent of how clothing is a huge polluter, almost equal to food wastage. In today's age we are so tuned into where our food comes from and how we can help the planet and ourselves by consuming the proper foods. But do we actually take into consideration where our clothes come from? It is predominately other women who make our clothes and we need to question why that Primark jumper costs £7. At university I have sat at a knitting machine hours on end in the comfort of a nice warm room listening to music, taking breaks whenever I like. Somehow I don't think those who are making some of our clothes have that luxury. 

There is almost a snobbery in this country when it comes to buying clothes. A great example is the dilemma faced when attending weddings. Don't look now but the fashion police are out making sure you aren't wearing the same dress you wore a few months ago at Claire's wedding. It's a bit ridiculous. However on the other side of that there is almost this code of honour that we don't spend much money on clothes.We have all uttered the words 'it's from Primark, only cost me a fiver'. We are almost proud of the fact that we purchased such a bargain!

I want to stress that I haven't wrote this blog post to make you feel guilty about how we think about clothing. I am very much guilty of a lot of things discussed here. I wanted to write about something that affects us all, but mainly women, and to try and change our attitudes slightly towards buying clothes. I'm not saying I'm the queen of reusing and recycling my outfits. I'm a massive hoarder. I have four bin bags of clothes in my attic I don't wear to prove that. I'm not saying that we should stop buying clothes, because that would be no fun. I love the buzz of buying something new.  I just wanted to try and bring more awareness to our buying habits. It's taking the time to love the clothes you have bought and wearing them 100 times until that blue sweater is turning a nice shade of grey. It's also about taking the time to be more aware of what other high street brands are trying to do help with this issue.

If there is one thing you take away from reading this, it is not to necessarily change your opinions but to be more aware of this worldwide issue. I hope that this blog post will make you more mindful of your buying habits, specifically when it comes to buying clothes. And maybe you will take some time to discover our countries independent designers.
                 
                                                                                            Orlagh x

I'm Back!

                                                                         Well, hello there. Long time no see.

It might be a little bit of an understatement to say it has been a long time since I typed a few words on this blog. Let's be real here, it's been a ridiculous amount of time since Life NI Style has been in my life! Two years to be exact.Yes, I know! I can't quite believe it myself.

So, OK. I've went over in my head a hundred times how I would begin this blog post or whether I should even get back into blogging. But I'm grabbing the bull by the horns and I'm just going to see where it takes me....again. But before I begin, please forgive me if I am a bit rusty on the writing front. I'm no professional writer.

So two years has passed and holy moly how life has changed in that small amount of time. I started this blog in 2015. I was 23, still living with my parents, working in New Look part-time and in a relationship with my boyfriend. Fast-forward to 2018 and I have now flew the nest! I am now 26, working full-time in an interior business and I'm married to my then boyfriend. I'm still finding it weird to say that I have a husband. I'm an actual wife for flip sake!

As I write on my sofa on this Tuesday evening, with 'Friends' on Netflix in the background (what a wonderful time to be alive), I think about how blogging has changed over the years. Even back in 2015, especially in Northern Ireland, the term 'blogging' was something that was not really regarded of as being a serious job and a source of income but instead, more of a hobby or past-time. Well, how times have changed. I'm not even going to get started on my own views of how blogging has changed right now. I'll leave that for another blog post down the line.

So this is me, Orlagh Laverty (a Murdoch no more) giving this "blogging" thing another go. Life NI Style, Take Two, you might say. I'm going to try and be as genuine as I possibly can. I'm going to write about the topics that interest me, and some of you might not like it but hopefully a lot of you will! This time I'm not going to apologise if I haven't wrote a blog post in a month because, let's be honest, there's more things to worry about. I'm not going to be annoyed if a photo doesn't look Instagram perfect because no matter how much you comb the shit out of your fringe, your bangs will not play ball. Shout out to the fringe people out there! I feel your pain.

I really hope you all enjoy reading what I have to say and maybe you will join in on the conversation. Just be nice because no-one likes a smart ass.

 Here's to a brand new start in the blogosphere....again.

Orlagh x

Created in Belfast

Mmhm, it's been quite a while since I last typed a few words and uploaded a few photos on Life NI Style. But I'm not going to bore you with excuses and ramblings. Here's to a brand new month! I don't know about you but June was a pretty big yawn-fest for myself. Apart from my brother moving to America for a year to work at Disneyland, (thanks for the many Snapchats Conor, making me extremely jealous) the month of June was a bit of a drag. 

But! 

As always, the beginning of June brought the Belfast school of art degree show and I was raring to have a wee nosy at the exhibition! I have to say the show did not disappoint and it was great to see all the wonderful work from a range of disciplines. Animation, applied arts, fine art, graphic design and illustration, interaction design, photography and finally the most important one of all (just kidding), textile art, design and fashion. No wonder it took almost three hours to view everyone's work! Stepping back inside the building and the heart of creativity in Belfast brought back so many memories of my time studying at this university. It's been just over two years now since I graduated from the art college and it just feels like yesterday that I was hunched over a knitting machine, a sewing machine or computer. Looking back my final year consisted of many a late night, many crying sessions, many meal deals or McDonalds, many hours spent deciding on the right shade of cream (yes, there are so many), many 5 minute breaks and deep conversations on the right size and type of font and so much money spent on print-outs (while also cursing that damn feckin' printer when it didn't print out those 50 pages you needed). So yeah, despite all of this, seeing the end result and all that work you put in was all worth it. And I have to admit that I do miss it.

My absolute favourite part was viewing the textiles and fashion section of the exhibition. So much hard work and dedication by the students had been put into their projects over the past three or four years and finally they were able to have a platform to showcase their beautiful collections or final pieces. Below I have included the cream of the crop in regards to the work which stood out to me and which I admired the most. Also, just a small mention on the textile designer, Terri McStraw. Her woven fabric collection titled 'The Fíor Collection' was just utterly beautiful. The fabrics she created were so luxurious and cosy and woven to perfection. I think this lady will be one to watch out for in the future! 

Terri McStraw designs - www.strawni.com 

Natalia Lees - natalialees.com

Adele Brown

Rachel Gallagher 

Alice Blackstock

Finally, just a little quote I came across and I thought it would end this blog post quite nicely!

Walk into Spring

Spring is officially here!

So I guess someone was listening to me when I ranted and raved in my previous post about the weather being so gross. Easter week brought beautiful weather for us all (HUZZAH) and it put a huge smile on my face. Thankfully I had a few days off work to make the most of the sunshine and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get my camera out and take some lovely snaps!

If you don't already know, I come from a wee wee village outside of Armagh. While driving through it, if you blink you will certainly miss it. Now, no matter how much I complain about being quite isolated out here in the 'shticks', the place where I was born and bred contains quite a few snippets of beauty. When I was younger I always loved exploring the nooks and crannies of the countryside around me. My dad and I would even venture out at 6am on a crisp Spring morning (Wellington boots and stick in hand) and traipse through the fields trying to spot some furry creatures. Almost every time we would come across a fox or hare going about their business collecting food for their babies and being stopped in their tracks by two lunatics hiding behind some trees. (Those lunatics being my dad and I) Back in those days I didn't carry around a camera, because I was 10 and I was more interested in enjoying the moment. Now, on the other hand, I love capturing the moment through a lens and adding a wee filter here and there. *Disclaimer: I'm no photographer, okay?*

On Easter Monday my boyfriend and I took a trip up to Kilbroney Park in Rostrevor. We soon realised Easter Monday was probably one of the busiest days of the year for this park, but we trudged on and made the most of the day. Ice cream was scoffed, the bare milky arms were out and some beautiful scenery was seen. All in all a brilliant day was had!

Below are a just few photos I took of the forest beside me. Once a huge stretch of greenery it is now a huge area of deforestation with only just a little patch of woodland. Sun, shadows and silhouettes made for a great series of photos!

I'm currently looking out of my window at a very grey sky but here's hoping the sun will peek through those clouds soon enough! I'm off to enjoy a weekend full of lots of celebrations! Hope you all have a fab weekend and a big 'Happy Birthday' to my boyfriend!

It's amazing what a bit of sun can do!

Not Another LUSH Haul?!

Hello everyone!

Since my last blog post I decided to take a week's break from blogging, which turned into well over two flipping weeks! Working my job, trying to have a social life and general laziness were all contributing culprits to this bout of blogging inactivity. But I am back and ready to get stuck back into trying to entertain you lovely lot. 

Okay, so who likes a good hot bubbly bath? I for one am an avid believer of a good sweet-smelling bath. If you are not a bath believer then the products at Lush might just change your mind. And if Chandler from Friends can be a bath convert then so can you!

Now, if any of you are familiar with the blogging or vlogging world then you will know how popular a Lush haul can be. By this stage you may well be sick to death of them. I know in my experience of following bloggers a Lush haul is something that has to be acknowledged. It is almost like a cardinal rule in the blogging world. And the reason for this Lush madness? Just look at how cute they look, with the added bonus of making your bath look and smell amazing!

So here I am, about to join the many bloggers out there and share my views on the Lush brand. Since the word 'blog' came to light the Lush establishment has become something of a bloggers hub. Any Saturday that I venture into the Lush store in Belfast I am greeted with hoards of young and old smelling and testing those bath bombs and bars. I am pretty happy to join them and pick out a few new bath bombs to take home with me to add to my Lush collection!

Below are a variety of my favourite bath bombs and bubble bars. Most of these are still available to buy with a few exceptions. I will leave links under each photo too!

Appropriately named unicorn horn, this bubble bar is definitely the most magical of all the bars made by Lush. The bar smells of soothing lavender as well as many other gorgeous aromas combined. I bought this product a few weeks ago online and still can't bring myself to use it yet. It's too pretty to ruin! Unfortunately the unicorn horn is not available to buy any more but keep your eyes peeled for more quirky bubble bars to grace the shelves of Lush.

I literally just used this bubbleroon (yes bubbleroon) a few days ago. I love any fragrance containing rose and this doesn't disappoint. Lemon, rose and geranium oil, as well as coconut oil and shea butter are packed into this rosy bubbleroon. It left my skin feeling so soft too! Simply crumble under running warm water to create mounds of lovely bubbles! 
https://www.lush.co.uk/products/rose-jam

I have bought this bath bomb about three times now and I absolutely love it! Named 'Space Girl' this UFO-shaped product smells uh-mazing! The scent reminds me of the old-school sweet, Parma Violets. Once dropped into the water this bath bomb fizzes around turning your bath a lovely shade of purple! I would definitely recommend this one!
https://www.lush.co.uk/products/space-girl

Sex bomb, sex bomb, you're my sex bomb! Yep, you guessed it. This one is called Sex Bomb. Packed with lots of floral scents including jasmine, ylang ylang and sage this bath bomb looks so pretty and turns your bath into a gorgeous shade of pink. I first used this bath bomb a few years ago and decided to pick it up again, mainly because of its lovely fragrance!
https://www.lush.co.uk/products/sex-bomb

Throughout the year Lush come up with new collections to celebrate holidays such as Christmas, Easter and Valentines Day. Fluffy Egg is part of their Easter collection and it smells absolutely gorgeous! If you are a fan of Snow Fairy then you will love this! 
https://www.lush.co.uk/products/bath-bombs/fluffy-egg

Called 'The Comforter' this product does exactly that! This is the second time I have bought this bubble bar and smells so sweet and fruity. The bar itself doesn't look all that appealing but the scent will have you feeling relaxed and refreshed in no time. This product is so big that you will be able to get multiple uses out of it, so definitely value for money!

https://www.lush.co.uk/products/comforter

Honey Bee is without a doubt my favourite scented bath bomb. This bath bomb doesn't really change the colour of your bath water but the ingredients of honey, aloe vera and clay made my skin feel so soft and smooth. A big thumbs up from me!
https://www.lush.co.uk/products/honey-bee

And finally we have Heart Throb. Part of the Valentines collection I purchased this one online along with unicorn horn. This bubble bar is so sweet! Again, you get two bubble bars for the price of one and it turns your bath water a lovely shade of red! Perfect for Valentines! Unfortunately again this product is no longer available to buy. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and are in the process of filling up that bath of yours! All you need is a sweet scented Lush lovely! 

Enjoy!

If any of you want me to blog about anything in particular or have any suggestions, please let me know! You can contact me via my Twitter and Instagram pages!

 Have a great weekend everyone!