Littlewoods.ie announced recently that they were the sponsorship of the “Most Appropriately Dressed Lady” at the National Ploughing Championships this year in Athy, Kildare which kicks off today until Thursday, 23rd September, where the final winner will win a €5000 shopping spree (please god let my wellies fit!) with www.littlewoodsireland.ie. Judges will be searching for the suitably stylish finalists on today with the final taking place in the “Fashion Show Marquee” after the 3pm show.

Good luck to anyone entering, great prize to win!  Remember key to this look is a pair of wellies.

Hilda Lyon, Marketing Manager with Littlewoods Ireland and one of the judges of the competition said, “We’re delighted to be involved with the National & European Ploughing Championships 2010 as sponsor of ‘Most Appropriately Dressed Lady’. We look forward to meeting and greeting the ladies in Athy and with a fantastic €5,000 shopping spree from Littlewoods Ireland up for grabs, we’re sure to have a difficult choice picking just one lucky lady!”  Good luck to anyone taking part.

Both options pictured are from the Littlewoods range with the wellies priced at €32 and the stylish leopard print brollie at only €10!

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Q: Any advice for cleansing oily skin prone to breakouts?

A: This is not an uncommon problem seeing even celebrities with all their money and experts on hand falling pray to the dreaded spot!  Adult acne is also on the rise and continues to do so year after year.  Janette Ryan gives us her tips on how to combat the problem.

1. Always cleanse your skin twice a day. Choose a facial wash that is oil-free and has an anti-bacterial effect to fight the bacteria and prevent imperfections from reoccurring. After cleansing your skin do use a toner to tighten pores and remove residue of the cleansing products.

2. Avoid using hot water when washing your face as it can aggravate the skin. Use tepid water which will open your pores and allow the cleansing active ingredients to travel into your skin and dissolve impurities.

3. Oily skin types should avoid rough scrubbing and massage as this can stimulate oil glands.

4. Don’t keep touching your face as this can spread bacteria and cause spots and don’t pick or squeeze pimples as this can spread infection and cause scarring.

5. Always use a daily moisturiser. For norm/comb skin choose a light texture and look for key words such as hydrating. If you are prone to high shine on your T-zone choose a product which mattifies your skin while keeping it hydrated.

6. Oily skin should not be exfoliated every day as the skin can be stripped of its natural protective barrier and become more prone to developing bacteria. Exfoliate oily skin once a week and use moisturisers with ingredients known to unclog pores. Check out Normaderm Exfoliating Cleansing Gel which unblocks & purifies pores while refining skin texture.

7. Beware: Sun does not cure oily skin. Sun triggers only temporary improvement in oily skin. UVB rays cause a thickening of the upper layer of your skin and although the light does kill bacteria, and during the summer months your skin looks clear, below the surface of your skin sebum is building. Following sun exposure oily skin can flare up again. Always use suitable sun protection for oily to acne prone skin. Check out Vichy’s Capital Soleil Micro-fluid Matte.

If you have oily skin choose products carefully, pharmacy is a great place to go for advice and there are lots of different products available to treat the different types of oily skin and suit individual preferences.

Today’s Ask the Expert was answered by La Roche-Posay’s Training Manager, Janette Ryan.

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If it seems like we are bringing you more deals from Boardsdeals.ie than normal that’s because we are!  They seem to be on a beauty buzz at the moment so no harm in taking advantage of the offers they have running before they turn back to car valets! 

Urban Beauty is a well known spa in Rathmines, Dublin which has also featured on Xpose, so this will be a popular deal.  They are offering €30 instead of €75 for beauty treatments.  There are no stipulations on what treatments you go for, you can have any treatments of choice.  Basically you are saving €45 or 60%, great if you use the salon regularly for waxing etc.  The deal is on and will be up for grabs over the next two days.  Enjoy!

Click here for more…

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If you’re at a loose end this evening or hanging around town after work then this may be of interest to you.  Designer Pauric Sweeney will be launching his new handbag collection (drool…) exclusive to BT’s Dublin this evening.

The bags are described as ‘edgy and modern but with a classical twist’.  If you fancy a gander he’ll be there from 5pm to 7.30pm, Brown Thomas Dublin at The Accessories Hall on the ground floor.

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Boardsdeals.ie are offering another pamper deal: €48 instead of €118 for a Relaxation Package at Lotus Beauty and Holistic Sanctuary.  Lotus Beauty is in Blackrock, Dublin for anyone thinking of buying this deal.  On offer with this one you’ll get:

- An Organic Balancing Facial

- Ayurveda Head and Upper Body Release Massage

- A Medicated Herbal Foot Soak

There’s just over one day left to make it yours… the deal is on so it’s yours for the taking.

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What a warmer!  We’re loving the trench trend and in particular this take from Savida.  This Melton Trench is €55 and £47 depending on where you are living or shopping in the country!  It’s a great weekday work wear coat that also comes in black if the red isn’t your thing.  Expect to see it arrive in stores this week, but be quick, it’s style makes it easy for anyone to wear so is sure to fly off the shelves.

Philip Lim, Chanel and many more big design names rocked the red trench on their runways so this is a great high street version that will mean you will be able to afford clothes underneath!

Katie Holmes and Nicole Richie show us how best to work the look for both daytime and evening wear.

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We’ve grown accustomed to checking in with boardsdeals.ie regularly to up date you on any great offers they are running.  It was to our delight when we discovered they’ve another pamper steal on offer today, this one is for your bonce!

Cats Hair Salon (part of the Westbury Mall), are giving a €96 treatment for €40!  The treatment consists of a wash, cut, blow-dry and Kerastase treatment – that in itself could cost you €40.

The deal is on (i.e. enough sold already to confirm it..) so you are assured to bag the offer if it tickles your fancy.  A great crimbo pressie for the sister or mum that has everything or just some plain old self indulgence as the cold weather creeps in.

See here to find out more.

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Ok.  I know I’m a little obsessed with Awear lately, I promise to cool off after this post.  Honestly.  I do… maybe!

Awear have gone from strength to strength over the last few years and are truly an Irish fashion success story which, is something to be congratulated and supported especially considering the state the country is in.  As you will be aware we are huge fans here at wow.ie and regularly feature their collection.  Not only are we big fans but slightly more impressive than that…. they’ve just been featured for the first time in Vogue!!  Yes, they’ve hit the big time accolade by appearing in October’s Vogue magazine which is out today.  Their Fur Gilet was the item of choice with an impressive price tag of €60.

To celebrate the launch of their Autumn Winter collection the ultra glam girlies at Awear have given us one of their new handbags from the collection to raffle off to our readers.  Tell us in the comments box below what you never leave out of your handbag no matter how small or big the bag is!  Keep it clean ladies

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As we’ve already mentioned AWear launched their Autumn Winter collection and got the almighty thumbs up from the wow.ie ladies.  Have a look at this clip made on their press day launch to see what big names in Irish fashion industry think.  We hear from Brendan Courtney, Meg O’Keeffe of Image magazine, stylist Courtney Smith and more, plus we even get to see our favourite gal Angela Scanlon work a couple of pieces that took her fancy.  You’ll get tips on how to wear some of the pieces.  Check out the camel coat that could be from any high end designer and THE key item to have this Winter, we reckon it will fly off the rails!

Click here for more..

Pictured above is a selection from their Antique look with both dresses priced at €35 and will work with tights, boots or pumps for a boho look.  The antique border lace skirt has been reduced from €30 – €10… HELLO!!  You can always bank on these guys to enable you to buy into trends without bursting your overdraft banks.  Their site is also useful to pick up tips even if you are not buying and incredibly user friendly so it’s a win win.

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Brown Thomas Dublin hosted an event last night in the Designer Rooms on Level 1, to celebrate the launch of the celebrated U.S. designer Michael Kors’ gorgeous MICHAEL Michael Kors ready to wear, accessories and shoes collections.  Yes, it’s a little late to let you all know about it now – my apologies!

As an attempt to redeem myself here’s a snippet of the delights that were on display last night… starting with this camel coloured trench with a bare hint of military at €375.

… moving on to every woman’s best friend, the designer handbag …. purrrr… We’re totally loving the first tall option which would work so well with this seasons hot nail colour of navy blue, now to making them both mine!  Not forgetting the classic next to it which will see you through many seasons to come so a worth while investment at €395.

Even if it’s only window shopping pop along for some wardrobe envy, you won’t be disappointed.

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