What's in my bag?

I change my bag about as often as I change my knickers.

Ok, bold statement, and possibly not entirely true, however I do change my bag quite often. So one skill set I've accrued (can I even call it that?) is the ability to switch out my bag's contents all in one quick sweep; usually as I'm in the throws of a self induced rush out the door about 5-10-15 minutes late.

Ok, ok, so it's not exactly brain surgery or physics but it has taken me a pretty long time to wittle down my essential life bits and bobs that permanently live in my bag. 

First off- The stock standards:
Wallet. Check
Phone. Check

Then, the 'Pièce de résistance', a little make-up bag that I transfer from bag to bag. It includes;

Hand sanitiser- Currently a Bath & Body Works in Caribbean Escape, house keys, Clinique Chubby stick in Red Tomato, Laura Mercier lip tint in Crimson, NUXE- reve de miel in stick form, peppermint lip balm from a store in Argentina which applies matte- very important), Chloe LOVE roller-ball parfum, couple of organic tampons (glamorous they are not, essential? Absa-fucking-lutely).

I'm done and good to go.

Specs:
Bag- SABA El Lobo Mini bag in Mulberry.
Wallet- Argentinian store Prune
Phone- Work Phone, HTC Incredible S

Sexy Toner?

Let's break it down.

Caroline Hirons,  where have you been all my adult life?!

If you haven't already favourited/liked/watched on repeat the Pixiwoo (for The Daily Mix YouTube channel) skincare video featuring the brilliant Caroline Hirons, then do yourself a favour and get on it! [here]

I had heard some of my favourite British beauty bloggers/ vloggers bang on about skincare guru Caroline in the past, and always made a mental note to check out her blog [here] but for whatever reason, I just never got around to it.

Fast forward to present day and I do not dare make a skincare purchase without first checking out the masters' thoughts on the product. It's also safe to say I 'check in' to her blog daily. No really, .. daily *serious face*.

Fan girl moment aside (for now) and onto my new sexy skincare addition.

Sexy? Skincare? You bet your arse it is!

No exaggeration of the truth, it has revolutionised and revitalised my daily routine.

I won't go into the details about why you need to shake off the old school toner myths, I'll leave that to Caroline (watch the video! Read her blog!). She does a darn better job then I ever could, and I'll get straight to the point.

Here goes;

Use after cleansing, all over the face with a cotton pad and follow with your usual facial oil/ moisturiser, whatever you use after cleansing. Done.

Now watch your skin come back to life.

I instantly loved this product. Once applied, skin feels silky smooth and 'prepped' for the next step. Helps whatever you're using next truly penetrate into the skin. 

The following day, skin feels hydrated, smooth, radiant and clear. Enough adjectives for you? ;)
My skin has gained back it's 'youthful glow' and as a result, completely changed my attitude. Dramatic? Let's face it, you gain so much confidence when your skin is working with you. Now there's your sexy!

I purchased mine via strawberrynet.com but you can find it in many places online/in-store and have already recommended it to almost every woman I know. Now that's saying something!

Go out and give it a try. Would love to know your thoughts.

xx

I say Oui!

For the month of March Escentual.com had up to 30% off French skincare. Wooo! And yes, I did allow myself a quick break from the penny saving.

In the excitement, I almost went a little crazy... 'almost' being key-word. Yes, I did restrain amongst brands such as; La Roche Posay, Nuxe, Bioderma, Filorga, Caudalie... ahhhh so, so many great brands but I digress.

In the end I settled on the following;

NUXE- Rieve de Miel lip balm
I already had this in stick form but this really does live up to the hype and is much better than it's stick form twin. It is much yellow in colour (than stick form), buttery in texture and lasts for hours! Happy with purchase.
La Roche Posay- BB cream in Medium
A friend had recently purchased this and I was curious seeing I love a good tinted moisturiser/BB cream. Let's just say, won't be re-purchasing. It appears that it only comes in one shade 'medium' or at least it was the only shade available when I purchased it. Generally speaking 'medium' is the colour I look for, but I found it too light. It also 'rolls' up in little balls if you rub it in too much into the skin so your hands look like you've been rubbing the dirt off. So weird. Overall- No likey. 
A-Derma- EXOMEGA Emollient cleansing oil  

Not exactly sure why I purchased if I'm perfectly honest. I blame my manic 'French' frenzy and looked for anything 'cheap'. 
Cheap it was, but not really needed, though I will say that this shower oil is bloody fab! By far the surprise stand out and will be brilliant for the winter months in Melbourne. 
If you suffer from any dry skin (My calves are the culprit. WTH calves?) this stuff will fix it right up (albeit temporarily). Feels great and leaves skin moisturised without 'oily' residue. Plus smells really nice. Bonus.

Good news! Escentual are running the same promotion again! Shoot over to their site for up to 30% off French pharmacy skincare for the month of June...

 Viva la France and their splendid skincare!

xx

Sunday Sun Sesh No. 2

Eiffel Tower: From the top level- Paris 2012

With the French Open now in full swing, it's only fitting that today's Sunday Sun Sesh features a pic from Paris.

Time sure does fly.. this time last year I was at Roland Garros melting away on centre court peeling away any item of clothing that was not necessary. Today... I'm sitting in Melbourne wearing multiple layers. Winter has made it's grand entrance *weep*.

Sunday Sun Sesh No. 1

Cuba - South Coast

On an average Melbourne Sunday, it's nice to dream about a place a little more exotic.

Above is from my 2011 Cuba trip where I rented a car with a couple of girlfriends and traced along the revolutionary route famously taken by Fidel, Che and Camilo (amongst many others). 

This little slice of paradise (to be fair, ALL of Cuba is stunningly beautiful, ruins and all) was found on the way to Playa Giron. 

Car was quickly parked and we rented some snorkelling gear from a couple of guys on the side of the road *side note- reggaeton blaring... Oh yeah!* and quickly jumped into the pristine Caribbean waters. Amazing coral and tropical fish of all sizes. Breathtaking.

Ahhh.... Cuba... Easily my favourite place on earth.

xx

Can I hear an Amen for Laser Hair Reduction?!

Why oh why did I not do this sooner?

My best friend underwent laser years ago with great results. At the time she was using a laser called ELOS.

With the years, has come even better technology- Enter Candela Gentlelase laser. Simply, it's a bloody revolution! Viva la revolucion!

Fresh off my fourth session this morning, I can honestly say it is THE BEST money I have ever spent on myself. I saw results from my very first session, though thought wise not to post until I had, had a few more sessions under my belt. I'm having my underarms and bikini treated but am now thinking of getting my arms treated as well.

With only two more sessions to go on my current package (NeoSkin Williamstown) I virtually do not have to do any, yes, ANY maintenance on my underarms. I give them a quick shave the morning of my treatment (I undergo laser 6 weeks apart) but that's pretty much it.
My bikini has also dramatically reduced. I would say a conservative figure would be about 85-90% hair reduction so far. If and when hair does reappear, it is the wispiest, lightest hair. I am so beyond thrilled with my results! I can already see a much more pleasant summer without the hassle of hair removal!

I will have to go back for 'top up's' once my sessions are over, but that'll only mean a 5 minute appointment every 3 months or so. After the numerous years of waxing (those days are well and truly NOT missed!), I finally see light at the end of the tunnel.

Quick disclaimer- I have experienced a teeny bit of hyper-pigmentation on both the skin under my arms and on my bikini line, but it is quite faint. This can be a side affect if you have darker skin as the laser is attracted to darker colours and so sometimes effects colour in skin.
I purchased the NeoSkin special; Buy 5 sessions for $350.00, get the 6th session free. 6 sessions for $350.00, that equates to $58.33 a session! 

Definitely visit your local beauty skin clinic to learn more. It is such a revelation!

xx

Pinch, punch, first day of the month..!

And by gosh, it's a cracker of a day!.. well, in Melbourne anyway.

Before we start getting excited about the glory that is Autumn in Melbourne, lets take a second to mourn the end of Summer for another year...

... ...

OK, now that's done, it's time to dig out the tran-seasonal clothes (hello leather!) and start thinking about what boots I can buy this season *insert big smiley face*.

Summer is great. Really great, but it's nice to get a little reprieve from the harsh Australian sun, and let's face it, Autumn in Australia isn't very cold. But just cold enough to drag out the layers, not quite cold enough for opaque's so you can still bare a bit of leg.

And without further ado, roll on my Autumn wish list.. Of course, this is strictly a 'wish list'. I mean, I'm on a spending ban, so it's just a list to look at, especially the bag *drool*. By no means will I go out and purchase these or similar items... promise ;)

       Valentino- Va Va Voom Small Flap Bag    Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish  

xx

Hashtag - VOGUE

Magazine's. One of life's little luxuries.

I rarely reach for the gossip mag's, I'm more of a life and style typa gal so when I saw a year's subscription at a very cheap price (for the life of me I cannot remember but definitely up to or under $45.00) I very quickly whipped out my debit Mastercard.


Never disappointed, forever excited with each monthly issue, I could not be happier with my little slice of chic heaven. 
The style inspiration alone is enough to justify the year's subscription price. And yes, I believe my style has definitely evolved thanks to this magazine. Ok, that might be subjective, but hey, whatever helps me justify the annual renewal fee, right? ;)

Now, if I could only afford a third of what graces those pages!

It's now two years in and I can't even bear to throw out any of the older issues. Be prepared to see me in a future episode of hoarders. I'll be the lady wearing a bright bold lip, laptop at the ready, buried in amongst the mountains of Vogue magazines in my living room.

In conclusion, if you've been umming and ahhrring over getting a subscription for one of your fave magazines, I would highly recommend doing so. 

Happy reading!

xx

2013, The year of the... errr...?

New year, new me?

Well that was the plan. One of many for the year.

So let's go through my top four 2013 objectives and if they've been manageable up until the now second month of the new year;

1. Maintain current gym routine.

Fairly standard for a resolution I would think, and OK so this one's not completely ruined,... yet.

Going to the gym when you're on holidays is a piece of cake, well for me anyway. But once you're back at work, who wants to slug it out at the gym after you've been slugging it out at the office all day? Not me.

And yes, I'd much rather stay in bed that little bit longer rather than pump some iron at a 6am gym sesh. But new year, let's see how far the commitment stays. So far so good.

2. Be on time.

Pretty simple right? Go me! Not once late so far. Check and check!

3. Shop the stash.

Essentially this ties in with getting better at saving money and splurging less. I'm constantly complaining about not having anything to wear... cue photo's of current wardrobe and two, yes two chest of drawers (ahem... I've also got clothes in the spare room.. ahem.. and laundry).

There is only so much I need, what I want however, is a whole different ball game.

So no more rash purchases (weep) and I must use up all of my current beauty items before purchasing new ones. Goodbye, Priceline, Myer and David Jones... I think it may be a while until I grace your beauty department once again.

4. Challenge myself.

My favourite resolution of all and one that I will struggle to recommit to every time because, let's face it, it's so easy to stick to what you know. The problem with that is, that well, you don't get to experience new things because you're doing the same thing over and over again. So righto, step aside fear and let's live a little!.. within budget ;)

All in all I think 2013 will be a bright and bold year... I feel it in my bones!

xx

Abbotsford Convent - Melbourne

Happy Australia Day!!!

Whether you're celebrating at home, on the beach or at the park, wishing you all a very Happy Australia Day!

A day where we can all stop, and celebrate living in one of the luckiest countries on earth.

Although not perfect, I think we can all agree that Australia is a beautiful and amazing country with so much to offer. I know my family and I are very happy we took the plunge and emigrated many moons ago. I now couldn't imagine living anywhere else on earth.

Have fun, stay safe and always remember to slip, slop and slap and keep an eye on that barbie ;)

xx

Throwback Thursday... No. 1

This post is a long time coming. In fact, it's 6 months late.
But as they say, better late than never. Right?

And so without further ado, I present a modern twist on a classic item. My Timex digital watch.

...Ta - Da!

Isn't she a beaut? Gotta love the leopard print. Add an alarm and a one touch light up and you have yourself a keeper.

This was given to me from a good friend, who obviously knew my taste, better than I had given him credit for. Since then it has graced my wrist and I've never looked back. This is where I'd insert a pic of the watch in action, and actually on my wrist, but alas, my arms are in dire need of a wax. What? I'm amongst friends right? ;)

xx