Smile Tru aligners by Martina Collins

I'm over three weeks into my Smile Tru invisible braces treatment now and I've intentionally put off writing about the experience so far until I got fully used to the aligners. The first few days after having the aligners fitted were definitely uncomfortable, but in a satisfying way if that makes sense? I knew I could feel them getting to work so I didn't mind. The majority of us have had train tracks at one point, think of the feeling after having the braces tightened- that's it exactly. Except no metal ripping the insides of your mouth and the aligners are extremely discreet, I've repeatedly had to point out that I was wearing them as no one noticed- I've been wearing them every day to shoots and they've been completely unnoticeable in the pictures. 

Now three weeks in and I'm so pleased with them, the discomfort disappeared completely after two days as my mouth adjusted to the shape of the aligners and they're so easy to work with, the recommended time to wear the aligners for is minimum 22hours a day, meaning you really only take them out to eat and clean your teeth. If you're a serial snacker like me, I'd recommend Smile Tru to you ten times over, as you cant be bothered to take the aligners in and out often so for me, snacking a lot stopped from the day I had them fitted, (This is a miracle, I'm usually the Cookie Monster).

After you have your first consultation you'll come back and have the aligners fitted- this was completely pain free and took no more than 10 minutes.
No one really likes the dentist do they? However, a trip to Martina Collins dental feels more like going to the beauticians (I hear her cosmetic work is also amazing) - Martina herself is lovely and is as far away from a scary dentist as can be, but more importantly she's an expert at her job. She was works quickly but still manages to keep a conversation going even when my mouth was filled with pink clay, and all I could master back was a drooling nod, I felt completely at ease in her chair.

The length of the treatment obviously differs from patient to patient, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out my treatment is only going to take 3 & a half months! I'm almost through my first set of aligners now, I have been wearing these for almost a month then on my next appointment I'll change to two week aligners.

Living in London, it was important for me that I had a dentist who was flexible and Martina has been amazing with catering appointments to suit my schedule, for me getting to Belfast every two weeks is difficult so I'm able to pick up a few sets at a time and keep in touch with Martina through email if I need anything, personal touches make the experience easier and more enjoyable. The practice also stays open to 8pm on most weekdays so there's no stress for you 9-5ers.

My next appointment is 2 in days so I'll post a pic to show you the progress and if you have any questions you'd like me to ask about, feel free to message me and I can feed back the info from Martina in my next post. I'll post progress pics at each appointment so you can see the results for yourself. In the meantime you can find out all you need to know about Martina Collins Dental & Skin Clinic and the treatment itself here.

Beauty fads come and go but your teeth are with you forever so I couldn't recommend the treatment more and I'm so excited to see the results!

X

Monday Motivation - Getting over the 20's fear.

I'm directing this post to people around my age, late teens/20's. I'm no expert and don't claim to be but I have suffered from the '20's fear' 1000 times over. This is basically my advice to anyone who is feeling completely stumped about what to do with their life at the minute.

First things first, sit back and remember how young you are and how much time you have to figure your shit out. STOP putting pressure on yourself as it will get you nowhere, pressure will push you into jobs or situations that you don't really want to be in but feel like you have to just to feel like you're doing something. Instead, start listening to yourself, really listening. Ask yourself what you want and be completely honest. Sit down and make a list, write down every single thing that you want from life, no matter how out of your reach these things seem to you now, if you can imagine them, you can do/be/achieve them. All major achievements start with one tiny thought, so don't limit yourself by thinking 'I'd love this to happen or I'd love this job, but it'll never happen to me.' So many people are selling themselves short by this thought.

Remember "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't" you are right.. 

After you make a list of the things you want, turn the page and start listing the reasons why you want these things, think about why you think you should or can have them- you'll be surprised how motivated you feel after, you're basically convincing yourself that these things are possible. This might sound like a total waste of time to some of you, but each to their own, I'm just sharing what works for me. I do it weekly and I find it really helps to keep me focused and motivated. 

To me, turning 20 was like a slap in the face- I found it to be such a scary age. Whether you're studying or working or somewhere in between- the transition between teen and adult hits HARD when you turn 20. I felt like all of sudden I had to have my shit together and know what I wanted or where I was going with my life, in your early 20's all your friends from school are either graduating or swanning around Thailand- I spent most of my 20th and 21st years trying my best to make it to one class a week and the rest of the time was spent watching netflix.

The further into your 20's you crawl the more baby pictures appear on your Facebook timeline and drunken weekend albums are replaced by engagement photoshoots. And I'm here thinking, when the F did I become a grown up?! 

I'm sitting in the living room every evening watching corrie with my mum and wondering when it's all going to click together for me. Eventually, somewhere around this time last year I realised that sitting on the couch eating noodles wasn't going to help me achieve what I wanted out of life. I was waiting for opportunities to land on my lap rather than actively pursuing them. It was after this realisation that things got interesting!

This year has been a major one for me, I have achieved more than I ever could have imagined before and I honestly believe it's down to the simple process of believing I could! 

I hope this gives even one of you reading this a good kick up the arse this Monday- "insert inspirational quote here" 

Jo X 

My Tanning Routine

Hi there! Hope you all had a lovely Easter, I find it so hard to get back into work mode after such a long break, but I've definitely had enough chocolate/wine to last me until next year!

If you're following me on snapchat 'joannacoop' you'll have seen I snapped earlier today asking for post suggestions, I got suggestions ranging from a health and wellness post to what I considered as good chat up lines ha, but the majority of you wanted to know about my tanning routine. I'm a self confessed tan addict, where I'm from we get approx one sunny day a year if we're lucky so I have no hope of getting a natural tan.

Here, I'm wearing Cocoa Brown Night and Day Tan Mouse on a shoot.

So, after trying hundreds of different tans over the last few years, I've picked my favourites and would highly recommend you give them a try!

For a gradual moisturising tan, my go to brand is Bondi Sands Everyday Gradual Tanning Milk, not only is it highly moisturising, it also comes with or without SPF15 so if you are lucky enough to live somewhere sunny you're still getting the protection of a sunblock with the added golden glow. Again with having the SPF protection it is the perfect tan to bring on holidays for those who don't tan well naturally. I like quite a deep colour so I apply this daily after the shower, for those who would prefer a lighter glow I would recommend applying it on alternate days.

You can purchase these here.

For a developing tan that lasts I swear by White to Brown Self Tan Lotion, I use the original shade but it also comes in 'Dark'. Now we all know Thursday night is tanning night, so I would apply this on Thursday and wake up in the morning a deep brown colour that will fade beautifully over the weekend. My favourite thing about White to Brown is the colour, it is the perfect shade of brown with no orangey tinge, this means I can also mix it in with my moisturiser and put it on my face for a natural looking glow.

You can purchase this here.

For those of you who prefer an instant tan, you NEED Cocoa Brown Night and Day Tan Mouse. As I said I apply White to Brown on the Thursday and it fades throughout the weekend so I usually need a boost if I'm going out on a Saturday night, this is the best Instant tan I've ever used, the mouse glides on the skin and is so easy to blend. In seconds you're a gorgeous brown colour whether you have tan underneath or not, and if you don't the best thing about this mouse is it also works as a light gradual tanner so when you shower the next day you still have a beautiful golden glow on your skin that can be built up over a few days.

Another Cocoa Brown product I'm obsessed with is the Golden Goddess Dry Shimmer Body Oil, it gives the skin the most beautiful golden glow and is suitable for all skin colours. I apply it up the centre of my legs and on my collar bones, the beauty about this product is that it can also be used as the most stunning highlighter. And if it's good enough for the Kardashians, it's good enough for me!

You can purchase the whole cocoa brown range on www.cocoabrown.ie, but I get mines from Primark/Penneys. I'd also recommend following the creator of the Tan, Marissa Carter on snapchat 'cartermarissa', she regularly posts tan and beauty tips.

P.S - You can also follow me on snapchat, 'joannacoop'

XO

My skin care regime

Hi lovelies, first of all  LOL at my no make-up mug shot, I look so unhappy but I have the chubbiest hamster cheeks when I smile in close up pics. After my last post I asked if there was anything you would like to see me post about and I got a lot of messages asking about my skin care regime, so here it is! If you click on the images I've linked them to where you can buy the products.

I got lucky with my skin type as I'm not proned to break outs and rarely get spots. However, I often wear fake tan on my face so tend to end up with black heads on my chin and nose as a result. I've tried a lot of different products and techniques targeted at blackhead removal, including squeezing my face ALL day long. I'm a severe squeezer, I'm that friend that asks can I squeeze your face when I'm bored. I can't help it, there's something so satisfying about squeezing blackheads haa.

Any ways, after trying a lot of different products I found that exfoliating using Bio Oil mixed with sugar works best, I do this at least once a week and my skin feels like a baby's after. There's various ways you can apply the mixture, if you have sensitive skin maybe start by using your fingers to massage it into your skin so you can control the pressure of the exfoliation and avoid irritating the skin. Personally I find I get the best results when I use my my No.7 cleansing brush, after one use my black heads are gone.

My skin type is quite dry so I moisturise a lot, I'm currently using Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising lotion during the day, it dries quickly but leaves a nice glow on my face after which I think is why I love it so much, it's also available in an oil free gel form for any of you who suffer from oily skin.

To be honest I've only recently started using a night cream because I seen Boots Botanics All Bright Hydrating Night Cream on offer for only £3.33, I'd heard it was good so I thought I'd give it a go. It's designed for normal to dry skin, it has a nice cooling effect after removing my makeup at night time and again leaves my skin with a lovely glow when I wake in the morning, and for that price what more can you ask for!

Finally, when it comes to removing makeup I'm seriously lazy & fall asleep with it on more often than I should BUT this is why I swear by Garnier Micellar Cleansing water, it's a makeup remover and cleanser in one meaning it literally takes 2 minutes to remove my makeup at night (or in the morning)..

One more little tip, for the past few weeks I've stopped wearing mascara as often and started applying coconut oil to my lashes instead. It has strengthened them so much, when I'm going out I still wear my usual makeup but I just curl my lashes instead of applying mascara. And that's basically it, any more suggestions then please leave a comment below X 

Real life Miss Universe...

Hi lovelies. I know it's been 2 months since my last blog post, I was so enthusiastic about it in the beginning and really wanted to post as often as I could but then a lot of exciting things happened in such a short space of time that unfortunately my wee blog became less of a priority.

So as most of you may know, the most exciting thing that happened to me in 2015 and was being crowned Miss Universe Ireland, then just 4 days later jetting off to Vegas to compete at Miss Universe (or real life Miss Universe as I've been calling it) ha! Now, a month on it all feels like a dream, so I'm just going to do a short post on what I've gained from the whole experience in the hope that it encourages any girls thinking about entering a pageant, to do so!

SO- On the third of December, after having only 4 days to prepare, I jetted of to Las Vegas to meet the other 80 girls competing for the title of Miss Universe- when I say prepare I mean I spent most of my time in the bath scrubbing off a spray tan and the rest of the time trying to convince myself that this was all actually happening. (On that note, if anyone has any tips for removing fake tan- PLEASE let me know, it's the bane of my life!!)  

At first when I arrived I felt completely overwhelmed by it all, I was going to spend the next 3 weeks sharing a room with a complete stranger and the rest of my time would be spent with literally the world's most beautiful girls. Thoughts going through my head were, am I going to have to wash my hair every day now in case my room mate judges me? Are my pyjama's pretty enough? Do I snore? What if she kills me in my sleep? Haaa.

But as the days went on I realised that those girls I had felt intimidated by on that first day, would be the same girls I would tear up saying goodbye to on the last.
The main point I'd like to get across in this post is that the 'pageant' girls we see in films like Miss Congeniality are in fact NOTHING like the intelligent, strong minded women I met, every one of them had their own personal statement and reason for being there, the roster was made up of doctors, teachers, journalists and models to name a few.

I have to commend the Miss Universe organisation for that, the whole team are set on reforming stereotypes and making sure that their Miss Universe is one of substance, with inner beauty being seen as just as important as their physical beauty.

This seemed to be the influence of the organisations new owners, WME IMG- this year was the change over year, the pageant will no longer be owned by Donald Trump. Obviously I hadn't been at Miss Universe before so I couldn't fully appreciate the change but the feeling amongst the long term staff and crew was that it was the best possible thing to happen to the pageant. Which is another reason I would encourage girls to enter, IMG is the biggest modeling agency in the world, so even if you don't consider yourself 'pageant material' you never know what it could lead to!

Finally, although I wish I had more time to prepare, I wouldn't change my experience! It was amazing from start to finish, I got to work with so many talented photographers, stylists, choreographers, I was interviewed on E! News, Access Hollywood, Fox and for Marie Clare. It really was a dream.

Through it I've learned to be confident and comfortable in myself, I went over feeling extremely conscious of my height, (being one of the smallest girls ever to make it to the final) but I soon learned that even the 5'9/10 amazonian goddess' all had their own insecurities too.

Oh and I also learned the green tea and lemon must be good for something because it is literally all we drank over there haa.

I hope this helps anyone considering entering Miss Universe, and doesn't bore everyone else to death. X

Two of the world's most beautiful girls, inside & out X

Gold Fever hair extensions before and after

    

A few weeks ago I headed down to Dublin to Zero One salon to have my Gold Fever hair extensions applied in preparation for the Miss Universe Ireland finals, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world as I've wanted these extensions for a while, so when the lovely Zoe from Zero One messaged me to come down and have them applied I was delighted.

After my hair was dyed and blow dried, the application of the hair itself took around 2/2 and a hours. I've tried every type of hair extension under the sun, including a weave, which is agony to have applied and I can honestly say the process is completely pain free. I chose the longest length which is 18 inch and had a full head of bonds applied, I expected to feel like a weight had been put on my head but soon realised the hair is virtually weightless so although I looked like Rapunzel, my head didn't feel any strain. 

One thing I was worried about was, would they damage my own hair? Being blonde I'm nervous that my hair is weak already and didn't want to do any extra damage, I soon found out that the bonds are made from Keratin, a type of protein that exists within the hair, so if anything it will only do my hair good. 

It's been 3 weeks now since the application and I couldn't recommend Gold Fever hair extensions more, it took a while to get used to washing so much hair when I had so little before but that's a small price to pay for luscious locks like these. If you are thinking about having them applied I wouldn't go any further than Zero One hair salon in Greystones, I couldn't have been better looked after by the girls, everything from my colour to the application of the extensions and styling was perfect. 

One last thing, when it comes to styling hair I am no hair dresser, believe me. I can maybe muster a french plait if you get me on a good day, but when it comes to curling/blow drying I just don't have the patience. This all changed when I received my Instyler styling tool from Instyler Ireland, Best.Invention.Ever!! I can only describe it as like a straightner/curling tong hybrid, on one side you have a brush that sorts and separates each individual hair strand and on the other is a rotating wand type masterpiece. You can see the result it gives in my 'After' picture at the top of the post, silky, full, bouncy curls. If you don't have one, get one! I don't know how I managed to style my hair without it, although as I said my tiny 'Before' hair spent most of it's time in a not on top of my head. I'm a new woman now!

Any questions on Gold Fever Hair or the Instyler, just ask.

Jo x

Leather Love

Hello again! I know I haven't posted in a while and to be honest it's because I didn't really know where to take my blog after the first post, it was on such a specific topic that I feel really strongly about that I then began to consider basing my blog completely on petite fashion. I'm still unsure but have decided to keep posting and all suggestions welcome.

Anyways, I can't believe it's November! This year has literally flown by, I'm not ready for Christmas yet. But I am ready to dive into my winter wardrobe, eeeek. October was so up and down weather wise none that of us could fully commit to our furs and knits, as soon as it hit November 1st I realised I don't own nearly enough clothes to compete with Ireland's crappy (for want of a better word) weather.

When it comes to shopping I'm a bargain hunter, I spend hours lusting over clothes that I can't afford and then some more hours scanning the internet for more affordable dupes.

   

                                              ZARA - £35.99                            TOPSHOP BOUTIQUE - £295

Every winter wardrobe should include a leather jacket and it goes without saying if you invest in a good one it will last you years like the Biker above from Topshop boutique, priced at £295. But when I look at that price tag thoughts of all the £20 tee's and £50 dresses I could spend that money on instead come to mind and I just can't justify paying it (I sound like my mum). So instead I went in search for a more affordable alternative, that is when I came across this almost identical Zara dupe and fell in love! It's 8 times cheaper than the Topshop jacket at only 35.99 but the catch is that it is from Zara kids range, though I can honestly say it's quite big fitting. I'm usually a size 6 and I bought the age 11-12, so I'd say the age 13-14 would fit a size 8/small 10 easily.

You can shop the Topshop Boutique jacket here and the Zara dupe here.

Style with this oversized tee and leather leggings for stylish but casual winter look.

Topshop £20

Hot-Mess Clothing £32

Joanna X

I am fed up hearing the words “If only you were taller”.

I have been modeling since the age of 17 and if I had £1 for every time I heard that phrase then I wouldn’t need to work again. I understand it’s meant as a sort of compliment, but my height is something I sadly cannot change (no matter how much I have willed my legs to grow in the past) so I have decided the only thing I can do is become comfortable in myself. I fully appreciate that the 5’8 + girls we see taking to the catwalks each season are the best candidates for the job, after all the description of a ‘model’ is literally to act as a human clothes hanger, so their long limbs and broad shoulders carry the clothes in the best possible manner, I want to be clear that I do understand this.

However, fashion is the fastest evolving industry in the world, the public’s perception of ‘the perfect body image’ is becoming ever more inclusive, and thankfully we are now beginning to celebrate every body type, so one thing I cannot comprehend is when top brands such as Topshop, ASOS, Miss Selfridge to name a few, offer excellent petite ranges, why don’t they use petite models? I feel it’s only fair to their customers that they should see a true portrayal of what the clothes will look like on them?

For example, if a size 8 model was used in a plus size campaign, there would no doubt be outrage, and rightly so. So why use a 5ft8+ girl to advertise clothes for girls of 5ft4 and under? Surely this is only logical? I find I am often deterred from ordering clothes online as I can’t gauge the fit of the garment from the model on the screen.
The reason behind this post, is to stress the point that I have seen countless beautiful girls fall under the radar and struggle to book jobs due to their height. I believe it’s time for that to change, I personally plan to no longer apologise to photographers/stylists/agents for my small stature & would really rather not stand on boxes to reach the other girls’ level, I’m finally happy with my view from down here! There is room for every body type in the industry and if there is a want for petite clothing then there should also be a want for petite models.

Above are a few models who have broke the mold, including my personal favourite; the ever iconic Twiggy, her 5'6 self is known as the most famous model of the 60's.

Left- Devon Aoki, standing at just 5'5 Devon replaced supermodel Naomi Campbell as face of Versace in 1998 and went on to model for fashion houses such as Chanel, Moschino and Fendi to name a few.

Right- Eva Pigford (now better known as Eva Marcille) again measuring up as just 5'5, Eva won season three of America's Next Top Model and continued to model for the likes of Cover Girl and DKNY.

P.S, I'm so shocked/excited by the number of views I've had since posting my blog last night. If you like the content then please subscribe/follow, thank you! X

First time for everything

Hi there! So this is my first blog post and I first want to mention the excellent service I received from www.pipdig.co when setting up my blog. All I had to do was click a button and within 24hrs I had my very own website, they made it so easy for me and I couldn't recommend them more, you can find them here.
Secondly, Welcome to my blog!! I'm Joanna Cooper (hence the name JoCo). As I've said in 'About Me' I am currently studying broadcast journalism, I have always had a keen interest in both writing and fashion so I'm excited to be able to incorporate them both together in this blog.
I Hope you like the content & would love if you would follow/subscribe!
Jo x
Follow my blog with Bloglovin