My Current Non-Beauty Favourites

Hi All, how are you?

I was considering whipping up another product review of my favourite mascara or foundation but that seemed a little mundane. Instead, I'm going to list all of my non-beauty favourites at this current moment...enjoy!

1. The Divergent Series -

Last month I decided to embrace the inner teeny bopper inside of me and read the whole Divergent series in one week. I absolutely loved them! Not only does the author, Veronica Roth, take you on a thrilling adventure that keeps you constantly on your toes, intertwined with a love story that melts your heart, she also explores the ideas of identity and the understanding of who you are and what you stand for. I would highly recommend you read these books, especially before watching the first Divergent movie.

2. The Fault in Our Stars -

Firstly, can I just say, that I haven't read the book. I know it's a crime but I'll get there, I definitely will.

This is 100% my new favourite movie of all time. Watching this movie made me smile, cry (a LOT) and strangely enough, walk out not feeling grief stricken but with a sense of hope. A realisation that life should be celebrated, love should be shared and living in the moment is more important than anything else because you never know what's around the corner. If you haven't yet seen this movie, I highly recommend that you do, just be sure to have a box of tissues at the ready.

3. John Mayer, Don't Stop This Train -

It seems a little odd to be including a song as part of my favourites list. Maybe because it's not a tangible item that I would usually write about, but nevertheless it deserves to be a part of this post. We all know how brilliant John Mayer is as a guitarist, and this is no exception. The song is chill, something you listen to when you want to relax. The lyrics are completely relatable, the feeling of time catching up on you, getting older without being ready. Somehow though, like The Fault in Our Stars which I mentioned above, he manages to make light of the situation. My next challenge is to learn how to play this song on guitar myself, reckon I can do it?

4. Eggpant Door Stop by Mozi -

Funny story behind this one. My Aunty conducted a fun present giving game on Christmas day and my Dad ended up with this door stop (which my Mum bought as a joke and believe me, we had a good laugh! haha). As my Dad has no use for this door stop and my bedroom door has a mind of it's own, never seeming to hold it's own place, I acquired this hilariously cute piece of furniture...and I love it! If you're ever looking for a cute present or house decoration similar to this one, Mozi is your one stop shop.

5. Watermelon 4S iPhone Case by Sportsgirl -

I'm sure that many of you non-dinasaurs have upgraded your iPhone's since the prehistoric ages but I, however, haven't. You have no idea how difficult it is to find an iPhone 4S case these days without ordering online! Anyway, I found this super cute case in Sportsgirl the other day for only $9.95. The clear case is hard backed, super smooth and is covered in black polka dots and watermelons. Loves!

6. Herbal Tea -

I've never been a huge tea drinker in the past but lately, these past couple of months, I'm honestly obsessed with it. Herbal tea makes me feel so hydrated and good on the inside that I drink probably 3-4 cups a day now, which is pretty insane for me. My favourite herbal teas are rosehip with lemongrass and ginger, green tea with lemon and peppermint.

What are your non-beauty favourites at the moment? Would love to know! 

xx

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Product Review - Glasshouse Candle in "Taha/Vanilla Caramel"

Sweet baby Jesus, this candle smells SO delicious! 

This is the candle every Peter Alexander store in Melbourne smells like, they burn it religiously. I've been on the hunt for this candle in a small size because the ones they sell in PA are pretty huge and therefore so is the price tag. Well, as I was walking down Chapel St the other day on my way home from work, I had a fortunate stroke of serendipity. Tucked away in the corner of an independent handcraft shop, was this very candle in miniature size! Safe to say it took me about 2 minutes to make my purchase. Haha.

The smell of this candle is a bit like a mixture of caramel jerseys and salted caramel sweets. The scent of the candle fills every room of the house within minutes and lingers about for ages, even after you've blown out the flame. 

If sweet scents are your kind of thing, this candle is definitely for you. Think snuggling under a blanket with a cup of tea and the warming aroma of buttery caramel and vanilla lingering about. Peter Alexander, a popular pyjama franchise, certainly know what they're doing.

Glasshouse produce great quality candles and will look great with any kind of interior design. You have my tick of approval! 

Rrp: $18.95

What's your favourite candle scent? 

xx

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2015 Resolutions!

Day one of 2015 and I'm feeling fabulous! I'm really looking forward to this year because I know it's going to be a great one with so many new experiences, hard work and fun times. I've never been a huge believer of new year's resolutions in the past but this year feels different. I don't look at resolutions as a hard task anymore, I see it as a chance to work on changing the parts of yourself you believe needs changing and that if you fail, you can pick yourself up and keep going.

Below are my resolutions for 2015. They may give you some inspiration if you're struggling to think of any resolutions or if you're just a curious cat like me, have a sticky nose around!

1. Work on HEALTH -

Up until I was 17 and retired from elite gymnastics, I was an incredibly active and healthy person but since retiring from gymnastics, my health has been slowly decreasing. I don't exercise or sleep enough and my diet could certainly do with a spruce. This year I am going to make a huge effort to turn the table around and work on my health.

2. Work on being the best version of ME -

All too often I find myself unhealthily comparing everything about myself and my lifestyle to other people. Not only does this cause my self-confidence to plummet down, it's also a waste of time and distracts me from working on being the best version of myself. It's difficult to look outside yourself and help others when you're so focused and worried about yourself, so this year I am really going to work on this.

3. Work on FACING FEARS -

A little cliche, right? I've done a blog post about facing my fears previously and I'm going to make it a new year's resolution. I'm turning 20 this year and I'm well aware that this is the time in my life, if there ever was a time, to awaken that lioness inside of me, recognise that I have fears and then defeat them. Nobody is without fears, but fearless people are able to acknowledge the fact that they have terrors and are then able to conquer them. I admire people like this and therefore I am going to work at also, being fearless.

I'm really excited and motivated to work on my new year's resolutions and if you are too, list yours below and we can encourage each other together! I'm all about having a supportive network :)

xx

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I went on a New Zealand adventure...

...and it was pretty incredible.

The initial reason for the holiday was to see my sister perform in the ballet over there (which we did, 6 times over) but we also decided to make a road trip out of it. My Dad and I hired a car when we arrived in Wellington and drove over 1000km throughout the week to different little towns that each had their own style and backstory (such as Napier and their Art Deco street signs and shops). 

We drove around narrow, one way roads, through native NZ bushland, along steep and curvy bends in scarily heavy rain and around absolutely gorgeous bays. Honestly, if you want to experience the most beautiful parts of New Zealand, a car is a great way to go. 

My favourite place that we visited was a fisherman's town called Coromandel. It was a reasonable sized town in comparison to some of the other minute cottages we passed, it was extremely neat (as with most of the towns we passed by) and each shop was carefully painted to match the pastel/striped theme going on. I think we also lucked out with the weather when we stayed here because there was hardly a cloud in sight, very unusual for New Zealand. 

The food in Coromandel was great (if you find the right place, I don't recommend you try the local fish and chip shop. Unless you have an acquired taste for cardboard), and the motel we stayed in, 'The Olive Tree', was also a highlight of my trip. For instance, the shower in this motel was the strangest, most entertaining shower I have ever come across. It looked a little like a time machine and when you hopped inside there was a mirror with a control panel below. The control panel allowed changing neon lights to flash about the shower, music to boom out of the speakers and it even told me the temperature outside. The fun didn't end there, the shower also had a seat and a million and one different shower heads that sprayed water out in all different directions of the booth, depending on what setting you put it on. Honestly, I was in fits of laughter for a good amount of time when I saw it (and don't tell me you wouldn't be too)!! Not to mention the tap was a little space agent looking too. 

The rest of the trip after we dropped off the hire car was spent exploring Auckland and one of the islands close by. Auckland also had some great places for food (to be expected really, considering it's a bigger city) but you do have to walk down odd alleyways and side streets in order to find them. 

Driving around the coast near Coromandel 

Two of many, many sheep in New Zealand 

Napier Beach

Napier Art Deco 

Although I had an awesome time adventuring around NZ, I was definitely ready to come home. I was exhausted and even as I sit here typing this blog post, my eyes sting and strain to concentrate on the screen from powering on 2 hours of sleep and no coffee, but I'm determined not to sleep too early.

I. can. do. this! 

I hope you've all had a wonderful week and are getting excited about Christmas because it's just around the corner!! Yippee!!!

What's the last adventure you went on?

xx

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Quick and easy makeup routine

This is my quick and easy makeup routine which takes about 10 minutes once you get the hang of it. It looks pretty, classy and basically just enhances your natural beauty! 

I usually change the lip colours on a day to day basis because I get easily bored of one colour, this lip colour was just what I felt went best with my outfit that day. 

 FACE: 

Primer: MAC prep+prime radiant primer.
Concealer: NARS creamy concealer in "Vanilla" under the eyes, around the nose and on any blemishes.
Foundation: Bare Minerals original powder foundation in the shade "Fairly Light". This foundation has fabulous coverage, is super quick to apply, lasts all day without fading or creasing and looks natural on the face. Highly recommend to anyone!
Bronzer: The Body Shop honey bronze bronzer in the darkest shade. Applied to cheek bones, forehead, down the sides of my nose and around the jawline.
Blush: MAC powder blush in "Pinch Me". Applied to the cheek bones using a Sigma "F50" Duo Fibre brush which I find to give the most natural finish.
Highlighter: MAC soft and gentle highlighting powder.
Setting Spray: Urban Decay all nighter setting spray. This is optional and you totally don't need to worry about not using it if you don't want to!

EYEBROWS: 

- MAC eyeshadow in the shade "Mystery" to fill in and shape eyebrows.
- Benefit gimme brow brow gel in the shade "Medium/Deep" to set brows in place and to volumise.

EYES: 

- Lorac Pro eye primer.
- Lorac Pro Palette using: "Nude" on the lids, tear ducts and to highlight the brow, "Taupe" in the crease and under the eyes, a little of "Sable" in the crease to deepen and also under the eyes and "Espresso" as eyeliner, using the leftovers under my eyes.
- Maybelline volum' express the falsies mascara in "Black".

LIPS: 

- Chi Chi creamy matte liquid lipstick in the shade "Wild Child".

So that's it guys, I hope you found this helpful!

What makeup products do you most reach for when you're in a hurry? 

xx

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Face Of The Night - Brown Smokey Eye and Cherry Red Lips

What's this? A face of the night? Good one Issy, posting something new for a change (note sarcasm)! ;) 

You know the drill...I went out last night, I put effort into my makeup, I liked it, took some photos and am now sharing it online! 

Dark red/plum lipsticks are my current obsession right now and so here I have an example of how I like to wear it; with matte brown eyeshadows, fluttery false lashes and a winged liner. Simple and sweet. 

As per usual I've listed all the products I used on my face below. Enjoy! 

Products Used:

- MAC natural radiance prep+prime primer
- MAC studio sculpt foundation
- NARS creamy concealer (under the eyes and on highlighting areas) in "Vanilla"
- Maybelline age rewind concealer to cover blemishes
- MAC translucent powder
- Benefit Hoola bronzer
- MAC powder blush in "Pinch Me"
- MAC highlighter in "Soft and Gentle"
- MAC eyeshadow in "Mystery" to fill in eyebrows
- Benefit gimme brow brow gel
- Lorac Pro eye primer
- Lorac Pro Palette using the shades: Taupe, Sable, Espresso, Cream, Nude (a little amount for highlighting areas)
- theBalm schwing liquid eyeliner in "Black" (for the winged eyeliner)
- Rimmel scandaleyes eyeliner in "Nude" (for the waterline)
- Maybelline volum' express the falsies mascara in "Black"
- Ardell false lashes in "Natural"
- Rimmel stay on lip liner in "Cherry Kiss"
- Chi Chi lipstick in "Let Me Tempt You"
- Urban Decay all nighter makeup setting spray

What do you guys think of this look? Are you a fan of dark lipsticks? Let me know! 

xx

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I'm currently loving...

Benefit's 'Gimme Brow' Brow Gel - 

• Quick and easy to use, especially handy when in a rush to get out the door! 
• Matches my dark brown brows perfectly 
• Fills in sparse hairs 
• Volumises 
• Keeps brow hairs in place all day long 

Chanel's Vitalumiere Foundation - 

• Refreshingly light foundation, perfect for the approaching Summer months 
• Has a smooth application
• Covers any redness or uneven skin tones 
• Is build-able without looking cakey 
• Has SPF 15 
• Perfect for those of you who like a more luminous and natural looking foundation 
• Will repurchase (when I have the money...this is a very expensive foundation!)

MAC's Powder Blush in "Pinch Me" - 

• As the name suggests, leaves cheeks looking slightly 'pinched' 
• Gives a very natural look 
• Very versatile, goes with practically any look and any skin tone 
• An all around great staple blush for anybodies makeup bag

MAC's Highlighter Pen in "Radient Rose" - 

• Effectively helps to cancel out any fatigued looking under eye areas
• Gives a gorgeous luminous and dewy finish 
• Conveniently comes in a twisting pen 

The Body Shop's Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder - 

• Perfect shade for my pale skin, despite looking quite dark in the pan 
• Perfect for bronzing (rather than contouring I find) 
• Has a matte finish....no glitters lurking about! 
• A great bronzer for a great price. Will repurchase 100% 

Lorac Pro Palette - 

• Extremely pigmented and buttery eyeshadows 
• Great payoff 
• Gorgeous, very wearable shades for any occasion 
• Very versatile with 8 matte shades and 8 shimmer shades 
• Convenient slim packaging with a magnetic snap lock for travelling and storage 

So as I haven't done a monthly faves for a while, I thought it appropriate to update you on some of my favourite products right now. I use these on pretty much a daily basis (with the exception of the foundation as I tend to mix my foundations up a fair bit) and would recommend any of these products to you. Hope you enjoyed :) 

Much Love xx 

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