melbourne // brunswick street // fitzroy

I can say without a doubt that Melbourne is one of my favourites places to be. It's been over a year since I last visited, and it hasn't lost its appeal, no matter how times I visit.

I was only around for a short stay, and amidst all the mandatory shopping and eating (two words: Koko Black) so during my short stay I wanted to see as many new things as possible that I had not yet experienced in Melbourne.

The National Gallery of Victoria was my first stop - I attended a networking event whilst at university years ago at the NGV, and fell in love with the architecture and art, of course. My personal favourite exhibitions were the classic Renaissance and some of the pieces in the modern exhibitions.

A few days later I stumbled upon some amazing art in Fitzroy.

I decided then and there that I was going to move into this Gorman shop.

#iconic

Other than spending far too much money on make up, clothes, and food, Melbourne is such an invigorating and inspiring place. The little details make such an impact - like sea shells in the concrete poured onto the road under the tram line, the burst of colour poking out of buildings, the classic embellishments of old architecture, the cluttered arcades with niche cafes and amazing smells coming from them. 

Melbourne is amazing. Go and experience it.

x

lushious

After a day of catch ups and shopping, I managed to pick up a few goodies from Lush. The 'Angels on Bare Skin' cleanser was rated the top product at the store, so I thought it must be something special, and wanted to give it a go. With the change in temperature coming up, I wanted to keep my good skin run going for a little bit longer.

I also picked up some body butter and a body and face mask.

| The weekly wrap up | 1.10.2013 |

October is finally upon us. And after a not so relaxing week off, it's all hands on deck at university. The Graduation Show is underway, and it's been a total roller coaster, but the final design outcome is amazing, and everyone worked so hard to make the pitch awesome. 

Here's the weekly wrap up of the week that was:

I was in Manly for a couple of days for photo shoots, and this is a behind the scenes shot from Little Manly.

You don't need filters when you have this natural beauty right in front of you. I call it 'Beach Palette.'

Mulling over assignments, getting distracted by my succulents.

I met this little guy at a pet store in Castle Hill when I went out to lunch with my girl Clarissa. His name is Fred.

I was this close to taking him home.

I changed my hair! Nothing really too exciting, got some blonde in my layers and a cut. I love it.

Last night over the weekend.

Stay tuned ~

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

Shopping day with Clarissa & mini skin care & Typo haul!

On Friday, I spent the day with my best girlfriend Clarissa at our local Westfields & it was the best thing to do after a long week.

We always do well when we go shopping together- she's one of the few people I genuinely love going shopping with- we like going to similar shops even though our styles are quite different. Here's a few snippets from the day's adventures:

The displays at Lush are so amazing. These are the soaps near the front of the shop, & it smells so good you want to eat it.

Purchases from Lush & the Clinique counter at Myer. Itching to test out the sea salt spray & rose water!

I got this 'Fly Fly Away' Travel Journal from Typo- I've been eyeing this off online for a while & I am a sucker for anything pretty that's been printed- magazines, books, cards, stationary, you name it. This was $25 from Typo & it can be found here!

Me & Clarissa- she's super pretteh.

Stay tuned!

About me!

It just dawned on me that I haven't actually writing a bio about myself! 

This is my face:

This is my friend Clarissa, whom also runs a blog:

& my other friend Emily-May, who has a blog right hurr:

I'm at university:

Doing this thing:

I work here:

I love this guy:

& this stuff:

freaking out over Benedict Cumberbatch with Emily-May.

Overdosing on yoghurt dessert with Mark.

Shopping!

Making my nails look pretty! 

Thanks for bearing with me!

Stay tuned!