Comfort Above All Things

These all leather Urban Soul wedges are so comfortable I can walk around in them all day and not have my feet covered in blisters and feel as though I've broken both my ankles. A comfy pair of heels are worth their weight in gold.

Shoes Glorious Shoes

I can't wait to wear these tartan boots this winter with black stockings and chunky knitted things. Got them for an absolute steal through Asos.com. They're suprisingly comfortable (although I've only pranced around my room in them thus far). Bring on the cold weather! I want to take them for a spin...

Delicious Stationary

The other day I went for a little expedition to the mall with a dear friend of mine. As we were waiting for her Mac to get fixed, we wandered into Borders. I was in search of John Green’s first novel ‘Looking for Alaska’, however could only find ‘Paper Towns’ - disappointment.


In the search we stumbled upon some of the cutest stationary you could imagine; thank you cards with vintage polaroids of Paris on the back paired with tiny matching envelopes, notebooks masquerading as well-seasoned passports that had been on many an adventure, diaries thick with fresh paper and black and white pictures of New York and London on the cover.

Ugh! I wanted to buy it all. The journal was just begging for me to write juicy secrets on its clean white pages; I had visions of myself sitting in some cosy cafe, wearing a beret, sipping coffee and writing profound thoughts and musings with a fountain pen. I really needed those thank you cards to send to the hosts of those amazing dinner parties I frequent; I would comment (in perfect cursive by quill of course) on the cucumber sandwiches and peach pie, and the host’s lovely frock. The passport notebooks were an absolute necessity of course; where else was I going to document my journey of self-discovery in far away lands? Hmm?

Me writing a postcard to my Grandparents whilst in Paris - a rare moment of stationary usage.

In reality, I have about five journals sitting on my desk at home, with only the first ten pages used in each. I will say that those pages do make for exceptionally entertaining reading. Not because I was a talented writer, but because what I was writing about was incredibly lame; “Dear Diary, If I had to choose my favourite member of 5ive, it would be J because he’s a really good rapper”, “Dear Diary, the Blue Light disco is tonight and I bought the coolest top from Just Jeans to wear to it!’ Dear Diary, why won’t Mum let me go to the Year 10 Graduation party? She’s ruining my life!”, “Dear Diary, who’s a rebel? I’m a rebel - I drank my first Cruiser tonight!!!”.


Moving on...



Of course I don’t frequent amazing dinner parties which would require me to send a thank you card the following day. Replace cucumber sandwiches, peach pie and frocks with pizza, Baskin Robbins, uggs and the Mighty Boosh box set.

Booshing it with the girls.

And as for jotting my overseas travel experiences in my absolutely necessary Passport notebooks, the fact that I still haven’t put the photos from my Grade 10 school trip to Japan in an album is a good indicator that there is a slim to nil chance that I would be motivated enough to document my future journeys by hand.

Once it dawned on me that I would probably never use this incredibly cute stationary, it made me a bit sad. There really is nothing better than opening the mailbox and finding a letter waiting there with your name on it - not a bill, not your local politician telling you to vote for him and not the latest Harvey Norman catalogue - but an actual personalised letter written just for you. Someone took the time out of their day to think of you, sit down and write you a letter. (Bonus points if it’s written on pretty stationary or is from overseas.)


Gone are the days of a handwritten party invitation - Facebook has successfully driven them to extinction. I’ve even heard of people sending out their wedding invites by Facebook, eww.


I also really wish I did have the motivation to write in a journal regularly; whilst my past journal entries are very embarrassing and make me cringe, I’m glad I have at least a little reminder of that stage of my life. I often can’t remember what I did last week, let alone ten years ago.


Maybe my (very late) New Years resolution should be to incorporate more stationary into my life. It sounds weird, but it might be a good move. Maybe writing in a journal would slow me down a bit, allow me to reflect more, and give me a reason to stop watching Glee re-runs. And if I wrote a letter to someone, I’m sure it would brighten their day somewhat (I would ensure use of awesome stationary and bad ass calligraphy skills).


Ok it’s decided. I am going to embrace pen and paper (that's parchment and quill if you're Harry Potter) and the written word. This is my resolution. If you would like to contact me this year please do so by letter only; alternatively you can find me at your local cosy cafe (just look for my beret).

Loves of the Moment:

1. vlogbrothers - for entertaining videos with academic merit. DFTBA.

2. absolutelybeautifulthings (Spiro and Black) - for gorgeous Brisbane - based interior design

3. HRH Collection - for great jewellery and personal style

4.  non-disposable coffee cups that look like disposable coffee cups

5. Cloud Nine Hair Straightener - for powerful hair-straightening and styling

They're not shorts if you can see bum cheek.

When purchasing denim shorts, please keep this simple rule in mind. I have had my eyes assaulted numerous times this summer by bum cheeks hanging out the bottom of "denim shorts". I don't care how great you think your bum is, or if you are wearing them to a festival; once I can see arse, they're officially classified as underwear. The fact that they are made out of denim, is irrelevant - they're NOT shorts. 

My worst experience was walking behind a girl in a shopping centre, her "shorts" were smaller than your Bonds boylegs, and there was major cheekage on display.... I thought things couldn't get any worse, until she dropped her wallet. She attempted to squat and pick it up. Alas! Her "shorts" were too tight for such a maneuver! I could see her hesitate. Then she bent over to retrieve her wallet... 

               ugh.

It was not a sight I needed nor wanted to see. Scarred for freakin' life.

No.

Yes.

Lindsay Lohan is a complete mess and even she manages to get it right....

The Return of Glitter

Usually I'm not a massive fan of sparkle in my make-up... it makes me think of 80's pearlised pink lipstick, Boy George and glitter gel smudged on temples at Blue Light discos, but I have been noticing (and loving) the return of glitter make-up.

My change of heart towards glitter started with make-up artist, Lisa Eldridge, and her inspired use of glitter from the December 2010 issue of UK Glamour Magazine. I'd never seen loose glitter used on the lip before, especially in such a sophisticated and wearable way.

Brands such as Make-up Forever, Illamasqua and M.A.C have the most gorgeous loose glitters in their current lines and collections. They're in sexy and sophisticated colours and alot are finely-milled (not chunky like craft store stuff).

To achieve the perfect glitter lip start with a bold base of lip liner and lipstick (Eldridge used a berry base in one look and a hot pink in another), put a light amount of lipgloss over the top (either clear or in a complimentary colour) and then pat on your glitter of choice. You can stick to one glitter or try different shades to add some extra dimension eg. lighter colour at the cupid's bow.

Remember if you're going to try this look, keep the rest of the face glitter-free - you want to be the belle of the ball, not the disco ball.

Whilst it's not a look for the office, a glitter lip would be a super-chic look for any cocktail or night-time function (just remember to sip your martini through a straw!)

Glitter eyeliner is also making a big come back with Illamasqua, Urban Decay and M.A.C have all featuring them in recent collections or in their current line. Glitter eyeliner packed with glitter provides the biggest 'wow' factor, rather than those comprised of mostly gel.

Glitter eyeliner can be used along the lash line, as you would a normal liquid liner, or for something a little more edgy, try a graphic shape along the socket line.

The same rule applies to glitter eyeliner as it did to the glitter lip - keep the rest of your face glitter-free and you'll be sitting pretty!

Urban Decay glitter eyeliners.

To Splurge or Save???

This is a list of the the product I deem necessary to spend extra dollars on, and also a list on when to save them. I don't believe you need to spend heaps of money on all your products, so let's have a little looksie at what I splurge and save on:

Things I Spend Money On:

Blush - I hate, HATE, hate cheap, un-pigmented, talcy blushers that send a dusty cloud of product into the air at the tap of a brush. Cheap blush wrecks flawless foundation by having to pack on a thick chalky layer just to get some colour pay-off. I'm Nars all the way baby! I recently lost my beloved Nars 'Orgasm' blush on a roadtrip to Amsterdam, and you can be sure the first shop I hit up upon my return was Sephora to pick up more of this cult classic. Sure it's pricey, but it lasts forever! I used that blush at least 3 times a week for the past 2 years and I'd only just hit pan.

Nars blush = pigmented perfection.

Eyeshadows - For the same reason as blush. The better quality and more pigmented the product, the less you have to put on, and also, the longer it lasts. Fair enough if you want to buy an acid green shadow from a cheap brand because you're only going to use it once, but for frequently used shadows quality is key. MAC, Clinique, Nars and Revlon are some of my favourites - highly pigmented, last all day and blend like a dream!

Worth every cent!

Foundation - Well, this is semi-true. I do indeed indulge in high-end foundations such as Chanel, Estee Lauder, MAC and Make-up Forever, however I also dabble in more budget-friendly brands such as Revlon (Colourstay is a staple in my make-up bag) and Natio.

Bottled magic!

Bronzer - in my opinion, there is nothing worse than a bad bronzer. If it's too orangey, chalky, muddy or shimmery it belongs in the bin. I've sworn by Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder for many years now. It's natural-looking, comes in different shades, is not at all orangey, has no shimmer and blends beautifully. It even has a handy mirror in the compact!

My old faithful.

Fake Tan - If you get your fake tan wrong, it's really noticeable and looks infinitely tacky. Thus why I rely on St Tropez, the tanning masters. Their tanning foam applies easily, never looks patchy, and most importantly never looks orange!

Not hot.

Moisturiser - This is particularly important if you have dry, damaged or mature skin. Using a quality moisturiser will do wonders for your skin and prevent you looking like a dried-up prune. I'm a big fan of Elizabeth Arden.

Refreshing gel-cream moisturiser.

Things I don't spend money on:

Shower gel/bath products - I'm really not fussy. As long as it cleans me thoroughly and doesn't have an overly offensive smell, it's welcome to rub-a-dub in my tub!

Haircuts - This is a personal one as it is very dependant on your hair-type and hair-cut. I, however, have long hair, all one lenth, with a little shaping around the face. It takes 10 minutes for me to get a trim every month or so and costs me about $20 at my local budget hairdresser. As I don't dye it or need anything special done to it, I have come to the conclusion that I don't need Oscar Oscar to lop my locks.

Mascara - I used to only buy Lauder and Clinique mascaras until I tried some cheaper ones and found them to be just as good. Snaps to Covergirl Lashblast which is now a staple in my make-up bag (beware the waterproof version though!) Also take into consideration that you shouldn't keep your mascaras for more than 3 months, so if you won't use them up in that time, you're literally throwing away your cash!

Nail polish - Rimmel and Revlon do me just fine. They have a great range of colours, apply easily, last pretty well and I can pick them up at Priceline for under $15. I'm not ashamed to admit that I often peruse the shelves of Groove to find them at cheaper prices as well!

Brush cleaner - I once bought a bottle of $35 Clinique brush cleaner. I then found out a $5 bottle of baby shampoo does the same thing. Yay for saving $30!