make up & magnificence // life update

So 2016 has been an insane year - so much has happened, and the year isn't even over yet. I've had such a roller coaster year: I moved twice, changed jobs, learned more about myself this year than I have in ten years, made some amazing connections, lost some equally amazing connections, but overall, have had more of a transformative time than ever before in my life.

It's been a year of life lessons, self discovery & empowerment. It's been about an extra bit of self indulgence (see images above) and embracing what makes me happy and gives me joy. It's been about learning lessons the hard way, learning to let go of those who make us happy, and enjoying the person I want to eventually be.

Tracking back to the images, I have really delved into my make up collection. In my new place, I have set up a special space for my collection and the first image is an example of my growing collection. Another big focus for me this year has been skin care and diet - the beginning of this year saw me totally drop off the health care path, and I'm baby stepping my way back.

I have a bunch of new items to review - clothing brands, make up, skin care, home decor - so keep your peepers open.

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facing mecca

One of the most empowering things of my existence is going shopping - what's better? Going shopping with your best girl friend for make up and getting to try some new goodies, and walking away with some of them too!

I love going to Mecca Cosmetica, and I especially adore going there with someone who knows what's good (which is Clarissa btw) and worth to try. I loved going through and looking at all the new releases and trying products out. When I visited Mecca last time, I was wanting to get Smashbox's Brow 'Tech to Go' brow shadow pot, however they had sold out and I was wanting to get a higher end eyebrow product, as my current eyebrow shade is far too light for my natural brow colour. 

One of the lovely Mecca ladies tested out the Smashbox Brow 'Tech to Go' on my brows, and Clarissa said it was a great colour match and told me to go for it, which I did. I'm always filling in my eyebrows because I was not blessed with thick hair or a lot of hair in my brows, so the Smashbox Brow 'Tech to Go' will be perfect.

The second thing I tried out was the NARS Pressed Powder. I have never tried NARS before, and Clarissa has their concealer, and adores it so much, and I feel like NARS is a high end line and I really wanted to test out something simple to start off with. I swatched 'Desert' and it matched well. I liked how smooth the powder was, and that it's going to help with shine. One of my bigger concerns with powders and foundations is that they don't settle into my pores too much around my nose, and I liked that the powder was smooth yet not too fine that it would settle and make my pores super obvious.

The last thing I tried was Pharrell William's 'Girl' perfume, and oh my gosh it's amazing. It's a perfume that isn't really going to fit into like a 'floral' or 'fruity' category, it's got such a mix and smells amazing on skin. Clarissa and I both tried it and it smelt different on both of us, it's worth trying out.

Other things on my Mecca wishlist are the Dipytque Candle in 'Bailes' because it's a minimal classic, and the ghd Creative Curling Wand, because rose gold is my jam and I have dead straight, thin hair and mama needs some curls.

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sneak peek of 2015's first haul

Going to my Mecca, Mecca Maxima!

Getting comfy kicks from Rubi shoes.

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boxing day haul

Chi Chi Eyeshadow palette in 'Naturals',  Chi Chi Eyeshadow palette in 'Bronzes', OPI Nail Lacquer in 'Tickle My Francey', Essie Nail Lacquer in 'Limo-scene', & L'Oreal Nail Polish in 'Crystal Clear'

Being away on holiday certainly hasn't stopped me from grabbing some awesome make up pieces from Farmers, which is similar to a Myer or David Jones. They have brands like Maybelline, Chi Chi, Clinique, Napoleon Perdis, etc. I went to Farmers with my friend and man friend and we got a bunch of goodies.

Chi Chi Eyeshadow palettes in 'Naturals' and 'Bronzes'

The first ever eyeshadow palette I got was the Chi Chi 'Nudes' palette around two years ago; this was the first big step towards me learning how to do different make up looks and finding what I like in my own style and looks. Chi Chi, I found, have great duplicates for Urban Decay's Naked palettes. I really like Chi Chi, it's pretty affordable compared to other brands for the quality & quantity. Mind you, I have only used their eyeshadows, and not any of their other products, but I'd happily recommend Chi Chi to a friend wanting to start somewhere with make up without spending lots.

OPI Nail Lacquer in 'Tickle My Francey'

I have been waiting and waiting to get an OPI nail polish to try out, and these sales meant I got a little bit of a discount, and I really like this mauve/nude colour as a staple shade. I tend to wear more darker neutral colours and a dark neutral would be handy.

Essie Nail Lacquer in 'Limo-scene' & L'Oreal Nail Polish in 'Crystal Clear'

I've seen some really lovely pastels in the Essie collection, and wanted to try this really sweet pale pink colour. With my olive skin, I look really tanned when matched with any pale colour. And I've found the L'Oreal 'Crystal Clear' is a great top coat.

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holiday wish list

It's that totally joyous time of year again, and as the holiday season fast approaches, I love looking at all my saved wishlist items and pretty much staring at them adoringly for long periods of time (wait, you guys don't do that? Huh... must just be me! Joking, everyone does it.)

This wishlist is a combination of fashion, beauty, and things for the home. My biggest wish on my wishlist is the Rae Morris Magnetic Brush Starter Kit. I saw beauty Youtuber Chloe Morello review a number of the Rae Morris Magnetic brushes and I was just frothing at the mouth (sorry, that's totally gross) over these amazing brushes, and how clever it was to have them be magnetic to display and store them. I have one of Rae Morris's make up books and it helped me so much in learning about make up, and tips & tricks, so I'm keen to at the very least try out her brushes.

What's on your wishlist?

x

november/december beauty haul

Urban Decay Naked 3 eyeshadow palette, Sephora Job's Tears mask, Too Faced Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette, Urban Decay Eye Potion primer, Hour Glass Lighting Blush in 'Etheral Glow,' Sephora mineral powder brush, Sephora smoothing primer, Sephora Brightening and Hydrating Foundation in 'medium,'  Sephora Microsmooth baked compact, and lastly,  & Sephora Colorful matte eyeshadow in 'Secret Boudiour No. 73."

November/December was a really great month for beauty and make up related purchases for me - in my previous post about my Sephora trip, I mentioned how I was excited to try new brands and products that would not have previously been available in Australia, and all of these products in this post are completely new to me, so it'll be exciting to try out these new beauties.

I'll give a quick run down of where I got these products from:

• Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette & Eye Potion primer were purchased from Beauty Bay - they ship to Australia, however they said delivery was 7-10 days (they didn't outline whether it was calendar days or business days) and I received my purchases in around 14 days, which really wasn't a big deal to me, but if you had something gifted or wanted it before a certain date, it's something worth thinking about.
• Too Faced Chocolate Bar was purchased from Mecca Maxima - I know that both Mecca Maxima and Mecca Cosmetica both stock Too Faced products, however I was lucky to get this palette when I did, as they sell out super quickly and they don't really have their collection available all the time. You can always purchase Too Faced products from their website or Beauty Bay. I did notice a difference in prices compared to online and in store, but if you're really wanting it, online is your best bet.
• Hour Glass Lighting Blush was purchased from a branch of Mecca Cosmetica which was inside a Myer store in the city - I haven't been inside a Mecca Cosmetica store but this collection is available in their online store.
• All Sephora items from Sephora (obviously).

I'm super excited to try out all these new beauties, especially coming up to my time overseas.

x

revlon haul from target x

Revlon Photoready Skinlights Illuminator, Revlon Colour Stay Eyeshadow palette in 500 Addictive, Revlon Colour Stay Eyeliner in Brown, and Revlon Nearly Naked powder foundation in 020 light

I popped into my local Target this weekend and picked up some Revlon goodies on special. I loved the swatch I did of the Photoready Skinlights illuminator, and to try a new powder foundation. 

first impressions: clinique make up & moisturiser

Clinique's SuperPrimer, Clinique Super Balanced Liquid Foundation in Beige Chiffon, and Clinique Moisture Surge Intense

I've been looking forward to doing a first impressions post with Clinique products, particularly their make up range. In the past few months I have tried both high end and drug store make up pieces, ranging from make up lines such as MAC, Napoleon Perdis, and Illamasqua, to Maybelline, Covergirl, and Revlon. And whilst I have loved brands like Illamasqua and have always felt its quality is worth the price tag, my biggest issue with everyday make up is that I want plenty of coverage and the closest colour match to my natural skin. 

I've found I've always been either matched too light and way too dark- I am naturally olive skinned but still lighter than the typical 'olive' undertones. I decided to go to Clinique and have them colour match me- I favour Clinique skin care products for my combination skin and it made sense to see if the good match extends to their make up range. I opted to try a primer and liquid foundation, (1 + 2) and was recommended for the dry skin I do get during winter the Moisture Surge moisturiser (3). 

So here are my first impressions:

1. SuperPrimer

The first thing I noticed about this creme primer is how light it is on my skin and how it changes the texture of my skin- it makes it so baby soft, and doesn't leave behind a glittery or shiny residue. It's absorbed in very quickly, and found it evens out my skin tone before I apply the foundation. It's more expensive than any other primer I have tried, but my skin doesn't feel greasy and it makes a difference to the rest of my make up.

2. Superbalanced Liquid Foundation

When I first tried this, it was for a typical work day- a simple look with natural eyes, nothing too heavy. The lightness of the colour took me a little by surprise because I'm used to being darker, but in the artificial indoor light and natural light, it's very close to my neck colour. I'm still experimenting with brushes and which ones to use, but the product blends well, and has enough coverage for my skin. I'm still experimenting with the right brush to use, but so far blending with my fingers has worked fine for me,

3. Moisture Surge 

Usually I'm not one to gravitate towards heavy moisturisers as they often leave my skin very greasy and like I'm walking around with a thick layer on my skin, but this Moisture Surge, whilst being quite dense, absorbs into the skin very quickly and stops the flaky appearance of skin around my nose. It's great for the cold winds in the morning and does more for my skin than I originally thought.

That's my first impressions of the Clinique make up and moisturise. I found that these products work very well and compliment my skin type and everyday requirements.

nude palettes

Urban Decay Naked 2 palette, Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, and ChiChi Glamorous Eyes palette in 'Nude.'

In the last couple of months I have been trying to expand upon my make up skills and trying to add a bit more to my every day make up routine, and I have found that I prefer a natural/nude eye shadow look, and using that as a starting point for more formal/going out make up.

I've seen plenty of beautiful shadows and palettes in a variety of price ranges, and I didn't really want to spend too much on a palette that I didn't know how to use properly or know what colours matched with what. Clarissa, I can safely say, was my eye shadow guide and taught me so much about matching colours, blending, how to apply shadow properly, priming, different brushes- so much stuff. She has an Urban Decay Naked palette and it's a stunning collection- really pigmented, very workable shades. I've wanted to try UD but unfortunately they aren't available in Australia, and to purchase them from overseas not only costs a lot, but is limited in availability.

So with the UD palette in mind, I wanted to find a collection to learn on and perfect. I came across the ChiChi Glamorous Eyes palette in 'Nudes' and I have been using this palette a great deal since I first came across it. The colours are great for my complexion and the looks I want to achieve, as well as being pigmented for some colour pay off but without being too heavy. I have used this palette for almost a year and it's about time to find either a new one to try or to replace my ChiChi one.

Over the last week or so I have been looking at the UD Naked 2 palette and the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette- I have seen such good things about both in terms of quality, pigmentation, shades, and cost. I know UD isn't sold in Australian stores, and I have only ever come across one Too Faced counter in Sydney, and they only ever had limited numbers of the Chocolate Bar, and of course they sold out quickly. The good news is that I have the option of both after finding out about Beautybar which do free shipping to Australia.

I met a friend of a friend who happened to have the Chocolate Bar palette and it's beautiful- the colours are mostly matte but some have an iridescent portion to them. Both the UD Naked 2 palette and Chocolate Bar palette are similar to each other in price range, and from the sounds of it, are similar in quality. These are both higher on the price range but I feel that it is something I would use often enough to justify the purchase. 

I'm super excited for either palettes and can't wait to try the winner out.

make up haul

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation, Illamasqua Matte Veil Skin Primer, Illamasqua Skin Base Mixer, & M.A.C 'Shanghi Spice' lipstick

I had an amazing Saturday out shopping with my girl Clarissa this past weekend and we hit up Pitt Street mall and all around the QVB. Our mission of sorts was to look at make up and I was very keen to get my first MAC lipstick, Clarissa is my make up spirit guide.

We mooched around Myer and other stores, and ended up in Zara where Clarissa got the most amazing tweed blazer with elbow pads and linen pattern lining. She's gonna be looking like the coolest teacher at school.

We hit David Jones because their make up section is second to none, and I had raved to Clarissa about how amazing Illamasqua foundation is, so she went and got colour matched and got some foundation and primer. We hit up the MAC counter and I got the most amazing shade of lipstick- I love how it suits my natural colour palette and make up look. I saw so many gorgeous shades but I wanted something I would be comfortable every day. 

We went back to the Illamasqua counter and I decided I wanted to get my favourite foundation again. The consultant matched me up again and I was still taken aback by how amazing this foundation is. I also had it with the Matte Veil primer, and it made SUCH a difference to how the product felt and sat on my skin, so I decided to grab a pot of that too. Thrown in with the foundation and primer was a skin mixer, which I'm sure will come in handy.

For those of you whom want to try Illamasqua, please keep in mind it is high end brand, which means high price. I'm not usually the kind of person to spend big on make up, I have always gravitated towards drug store brands, and I have come across some great products, which are very affordable. However, when it comes to the needs of my skin, when I find a product that works the way I want it to, I will stick with it. Those of you whom have problematic skin will understand this, when you find something that works, you hang onto it.

Can't wait for the next make up trip.

autumn/winter favourites

Sportsgirl Jeanie tote, Wrap coat,  M.A.C lipstick in 'Diva',  & Earth boots

Dark tones, warm coats and rich burgundies are keeping me cosy this week x

march beauty favourites

Maybelline Fit Me Stick Foundation, Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, Neutrogena Pore Refining Toner, & BYS Eyebrow Pencil in 'Blonde.'

March is drawing to a close and this month I have been loving these products. I found that with the weather cooling down into winter that I have had to make some adjustments to my skin care and make up routine.

The Maybelline Fit Me Stick foundation in the number 130 is a very close colour to my natural skin tone, and the stick format makes it very easy to apply. The Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water is great to use at the end of the day to clean my face of all make up, bacteria and impurities. Neutrogena's Pore Refining toner is a great follow up to the Garnier Micellar water, and is gentle enough to use twice a day. And lastly, BYS's Eyebrow pencil in 'blonde' makes my eyebrows look full and defined without changing the colour. 

I liked being able to try both brand and drug store brands, and that if you're ever wanting to try new things, looking at pharmacies and drug stores will hold just as much treasure as a department store. 

If you are into make up hauls and reviews, make sure you check out my girl Clarissa's blog, as she loves make up more than anyone else I know and does some amazing reviews, looks, and hauls.

today x

After a meeting in Botany, I trekked back and had a lazy day with Vogue and the sunshine. My favourite products right now are Maybelline Fit Me stick foundation in #130, and Garnier's Micellar Cleansing Water.

"NEUTRAL" AW 14

The amount of times I wish I lived in a country with colder weather so I could wear half of this stuff is insane. But I digress.
My entire conscious life I have always loved a neutral/natural colour palette, simply because it goes with my own skin tone and style better than bright pops of colour, which of course I have no aversion to.

But there is something so timeless, so effortless and chic about neutral tones and staple pieces, like a pair of black pants with the perfect shoes and bag, or material skirt with a floppy hat.

Below are my pieces for Autumn/Winter 2014.

All images, gifs and pictures shown in this post are not my own, nor were taken or composed by me, and were found on tumblr, pinterest, and the internet. All credit goes to the original photographers, artists and designers and all copyright rights are owned by them.

❁ ☮ ✌ September & October Haul ✌ ☮ ❁

Yay I LOVE doing hauls! I finally managed to make Photoshop 5 cooperate with my laptop (it took a lot of me deleting useless crap off it to make room for it) and actually made a graphic for it, which I am secretly very proud of. I definitely would have done a larger one except I have a fair amount of uni work to plough through, so this will sustain me for the moment.

1. E.L.F Baked Eyeshadow Palette in 'California'

2. FOSSIL Signature Bracelet in Silver

3. Real Technique 'Your Base/Flawless Core Collection'

4. Frankie Lace Up Sneakers

❁ 1. E.L.F Baked Eyeshadow Palette ❁

I was originally introduced to E.L.F products by my dearest Clarissa, one of my complete make up guru's, and she was impressed by the brand's quality and range of product. I was trawling iHerb one night and found that they had this really lovely palette with these pretty colours that I know I'd wear every day as part of my eye make up, so I ordered it and waited patiently. After I got it, I immediately swatched it and was happy with the level of pigmentation and the level of shimmer in some of the colours. I tend to go for a more matte colour as a base, and then highlight and add depth to my crease with some shades that are slightly shimmery, or if I'm going for a more dressed up look, I'll add more shimmer to the outer third of my eye. 

I got to put these shades to the test when I went to a friend's party a few weekends ago, and Emily-May tried them out for me. I loved how the colours were subtle enough to build upon however much I wanted, but were still enough on their own. 

❁ 2. FOSSIL Signature Bracelet in 'silver' ❁

I've been eying off a bracelet which is similar to this one for a long time, and I happened to be chatting to my Emily-May and she joined me in the gushing over this pretty thing, so naturally I ordered two, one in silver and the other in rose gold for her! You can find them online or in store.

❁ 3. Real Technique 'Your Base/Flawless Core Collection' ❁

For the longest time I have been trying to find brushes that work with my products as well as my skin; I find more often than not I am resorting to cleaning my brushes almost after every time I use them, to try and stop breakouts, however not all brushes can withstand so much washing, so when I came across Real Techniques I was hoping that they would stand up to being cleaned so often. I've been using these for two weeks and so far they've been fantastic all around. If you're looking for the basic brushes for foundation, concealing, blending and powder, this kit is the best. I know in Australia some stores are selling these for $40+ which is a bit of a joke, but iHerb are selling them for under $20 which is amazing.

❁ 4. Frankie Lace Up Sneakers ❁

Okay so these are my horrendously guilty pleasure for the month- I love rose gold, camo is quite popular now, but not to the point I'll be rocking a camo shirt or jacket anytime soon. I like simple detailing with prints with something as bold as camo. These are so comfy and look awesome with cuffed jeans or treated black pants. You can find them here.

That's it for my haul, hope you liked it. If you have any recent hauls or purchases, let me know in the comments, I'd love to see them!

Stay fabulous and stay tuned!

| Mid week beauty haul | 06.09.2013 |

Spring is well and truly here, friends! I was walking around campus earlier in the week & it's so nice to see all the flowers blooming finally; my groups of friends and I got to have lunch in the sun before class & it was so great to not be cold.

In light of the new season, I stopped by at the shops to grab a few bits & pieces:

My haul!

Okay so this one isn't strictly beauty related, but I've been wanting a pair of earrings I can just wear every day & not have to worry about changing & that go with my other jewellery. These are Silver Beaten studs from Witchery & this is my first purchase from Witchery, which I feel a little bit excited about. Their accessories & handbags are amazing.

Funny story about this- a few weeks ago when Emily-May and I were doing a photoshoot in Richmond, we were waiting in line to get lunch, & we saw a girl with this water bottle which looks like a mason jar, & we both kinda looked at each other in awe of it. So after some searching I managed to find it at Target & they are the cutest things. This is Emily-May's one, & I got the same one but in purple. 

Okay confession time: I am useless when it comes to taking care of skin that is not on my face. Of course I bathe regularly like a decent human being, but I always tend to neglect some part of my body that needs attention, example, my legs. Because I usually wear long jeans or pants, my legs don't ever see the light of day, which in turn makes them ghostly white & scarily dry. Literally, I put some workout pants on before leaving my house for uni the other day, and these are the basic 3/4 pants, so there was some skin showing from the end of the pants to my socks, & my god I was shocked at how white & dry my skin was.

So I high tailed it to Priceline & got this cream (Rosken Skin Repair Dry Skin Cream) before high tailing it to my train, & managed to put some of this stuff on the small patch of skin blinding the world. Seriously, this stuff is amazing. It is so moisturising, my skin drank it in like it was dying (which might be true considering how scary dry it was!) I would highly recommend this for those of you who have very dry skin. It's great for the face, arms, legs, everywhere.

Words cannot express how glad I am to have acquired some more of this miracle. 

For those of you who don't know, I have a significant amount of acne scarring & pigmentation on my skin from years of mistreatment, & because of this I have a lot of dark spots on my face. Take into account the fact that I have very sensitive and combination skin, finding a dark spot corrector that didn't cause break outs & actually did what it promised was hard. I've been using Clinique for about a year now & even though my skin isn't perfect, it's far more manageable. Clinique's 'Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector' is amazing for lightening my pigmentation and scars, & takes about a month to see results. I use this every day as part of my skin care routine, & even though it is expensive, to me it's definitely worth the money.

On my way out of Priceline I spotted a whole bunch of make up cases & bags on special, & this one struck me first because it is the perfect size for me for my every day make up. As posted in previous blogs, I got a make up case which was much larger, & better suited to travelling, whereas this one forces me to pick only the essentials so my bag isn't weighed down any more than it has to be. I love the simplicity, & the colour.

I love shopping so much- as I'm sure you all can tell. 

Stay tuned! x

Catch ups & shopping haul with Emily-May (midgeymay)! | 13.07.2013

Okay so something pretty damn magical happened today- the planets aligned & I finally got to catch up with this lovely lady today!

This is my dear friend, Emily-May, also known as midgeymay. Her delightful blog features reviews, hauls, unboxing & all other manners of loveliness, including her heavenly cat Cacifier. You can experience her loveliness here.

Emily-May & I go to university together- we have been in the same classes for the last semester, trekked the streets of Melbourne together, and amazingly, will be together in the Graduation Show project taking place in the coming semester. She, like me, has spent the last two months of holidays working her butt off, so we were extremely fortunate to have a day off together. Emily-May was very keen to go to the make up counters in the Pitt Street Myer, & I of course would never one to pass up the chance to go into the city, so that was the imminent plan. And boy, what a plan it was. Below is a small snapshot of today's purchases:

We met around lunch time & hit QVB for little bits and pieces- we ended up first buying at Sportsgirl with their awesome accessories & handbags (oh the handbags!) & I ended up getting a black handbag, as shown below:

Madison Push Lock Bag at Sportsgirl

After pottering through card shops, we slowly made our way around to Pitt Street. Emily-May was very keen to check out the MECCA Cosmetics display, & got a bit excited about their perfumes, which, of course, smelt heavenly-

We made our way around to the Illamasqua (don't ask me how to pronounce it, I can barely spell it!) which was a brand I hadn't heard of- but Emily-May, being the English rose she is, mentioned that she had seen someone on Youtube talking about it, & turns out, in true form, is an English brand. Emily-May wanted to check out their foundations after liking what she saw on said Youtube review, & we chatted with the young lady at the counter. She was super helpful & promptly matched Em's skin tone with a very nice foundation on top of a primer. The difference the foundation made, and having a comparison of one side of her face being her usual make up, and the other being the Illamasqua, was amazing-Em's got flawless skin tone and colour, & she was beaming with the way the foundation was sitting on her skin.

I was curious & asked the Illamasqua lady to colour match me, & both Emily-May and myself were amazed at the difference between each foundation. I honestly didn't think my skin could have ever looked as natural and dewy- it has quite a decent amount of coverage without even using a concealer, is very light on my skin & matches my natural skin tones perfectly- and to top this, the foundation and primer, which Em & I both purchased for ourselves, were actually cheaper than most drug store foundations. I'm all for anyone using whatever brands work for them, & that the most expensive products don't necessarily do a better job than lower priced ones, but after having Illamasqua on my skin, I'd be hard pressed to find another foundation that does a better job. The only set back with Illamasqua is that the only make up counter they have in Sydney is at the Pitt Street Myer, so if you wanted to try out their products you'd have to go into that store. Both the skin base foundation and skin primer are shown below:

Illamasqua Matt Primer & Skin Base Foundation in Shade 8.5 at Illamasqua.

Whilst on the coat tails of make up, we went around to Priceline- Emily-May snagged plenty of bargains, & I got the Artiste Professional Foundation/Concealer Brush 50, and the Savvy by DB Perfect Finish Loose Powder in 01 Translucent, both items are shown below:

Artiste Professional Foundation/Concealer Brush 50 at Priceline.

Savvy by DB Perfect Finish Loose Powder in 01 Translucent at Priceline.

& just because we're a huge believer in signs, Em got the both of us a set of these:

Rimmel Instant Art Press On Colour in London Style at Priceline. 

(I will completely and utterly take this as a sign.)

After all this shopping, we called in at Wagamama & got some amazing grub- I managed to take this picture of Emily-May's Chicken Teriyaki before it was 'destroyed'- her words!

Chicken Teriyaki before the destruction!

And lastly, a very sweet gesture from the lovely lady- a belated birthday gift! Emily-May has the most exceptional taste in everything, & she was sweet enough to get me a beautiful notebook with the most seductive paper stock. The cover has got a light layer of pastel squares & it's beautiful:

The beautiful card. 

Papier Tigre notebook at Paper Tiegre.

Quite the big post today! I'm working less this week, so I will be doing a Birthday haul, featuring Emily-May & my good buddy Clarissa.

Stay tuned. x

Make up storage + OOTN!

I finally got around to buying some organisation bits and pieces for my make up & its storage, which makes me feel immensely happy. I saw these really cute make up trays with individual compartments at Target for about $25, and I was very keen on getting them but in my rounds to Priceline I saw this one instead:

This is the Model's Prefer Ultimate Cosmetic Organiser, which is currently retailing at $14.99. I was really excited to unwrap this bad boy & get it all set up in my bathroom. I love how much space there is in it & for all my brushes & larger powder palettes. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who just wants some organisation to their make up storage. I will say though that it's best to measure the space you want to place your tray in so you don't end up buying one that's far too big. This kind of tray would be great for vanity tops, beside table tops and shelves because it's a large size.

This is the Model's Prefer Train Make Up Case, which is in the Russian Floral pattern- however the one I purchased was exactly this size and shape but in all black with a quilting pattern, and it was for $8.49 at Priceline. I really thought long and hard about getting a case this size and shape, mostly because I do travel a lot from my house to Manly & I try not to overburden myself with bags of things. This is a decent sized bag which has plenty of room for my toiletries & make up without being too bulky, & I'm a complete sucker for a pretty pattern so the black quilting one was for me.

Lastly, my OOTN! 

Please ignore my expression, I was super tired when I got home. I had a family dinner tonight & I wore this mint green knitted top from Millers (I know, Millers!) with my Emerson treated denim jeans (which I will post a decent picture of soon! They're part of my exceedingly late Melbourne haul), with Emerson gold tipped black ballet flats, black gold studded envelope clutch & lastly, Dotti golden spiked necklace as seen above. The black ballet flats, black clutch & jeans will all be featured in my Melbourne haul, I promise!

That's it for this post, hope for those in Australia that you have an awesome long weekend, & for those living in other parts of the world I hope you're having a kick ass day!

Stay tuned!