Sunday 31 December 2017

Thoughts of the week

1. Another year is drawing to a close. 2017 was a great year for us. Some parts were tough, some parts were plain hard work, but overall we learned a lot and had lots of laughs.

2. I've made no new years resolutions. Have you?

3. 2018 is going to be the year of creating a comfortable home. We've been here for long enough and I'm just not feeling it. Truth be told, I never would have agreed to the purchase of this property if I hadn't been 8 months pregnant and sick of arguing with Tiger about taking our time to look around. But that's a story for another day.

4. Perhaps I should revive my Sunday Stories series. I haven't told a good story for ages and I have plenty of them to tell.

5. Last week I went into the crystal store for an amethyst slab and came out $108 poorer with four beautiful rocks. I've missed having my rocks around, it's time to pull them all out again.

Friday 29 December 2017

FFS Friday - Hi Mrs B

You know those people who are strange? The ones who are different and you just can't figure out why? That's me.

See I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. Some of my family are still involved in the religion. I am not (obviously).

Having been raised that way I have no idea when it comes to things like birthdays, Christmas etc. Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate those things.

By a bizarre coincidence Tiger was also raised in the same religion so he's no help.

Funny that, we would have been at the same conventions for years yet we never met. 

When Chai started school and the birthday invites started I was lost. Thankfully there was another mum at school who'd been raised in the same religion, so she used to tell me what we had to do.

It's so confusing. 

Christmas is one celebration I just don't understand. It's supposed to be about spending time with family, yet people get so worked up about it. They stress themselves out about presents, get into huge amounts of debt and often don't even enjoy the day. What's the point?

When I tell people that we have a low key Christmas, most of them are envious. So why don't they do the same thing? Makes no sense to me at all.

The last few years we've started doing Christmas, mainly for the kids. Because I have no idea about Christmas, I make stupid, rookie mistakes.

Last year I got Chai a huge ninja turtles playset. Being a rookie with no idea what to do, I didn't set it up the night before so spent about two hours in hell on Christmas morning, trying to set it up with Chai hanging over my shoulder.

This Christmas I did it again. I bought the boys lego. Silly me.

Chai was so excited that he woke up at 4am. It was still dark. FFS.

He managed to hold off until 5.10am when he woke us all up after discovering his presents. 

I spent three hours putting lego together, when I was supposed to be getting lunch ready. 

Second rookie mistake of the day, putting lollies in their Christmas stockings. Big mistake. They were on a sugar high all day. Fun.

Maybe by next year I'll start to get the hang of it, meanwhile, please send me all your tips. 


We haven't had a good Tiger story for a while, mainly because he's away half of the time. But never fear Mrs B, I have one from the archives for you. 

I was inside doing some stuff on my computer, Tiger was working in the garage with the garage door open. From inside, with the doors closed, I heard my neighbour yelling for me. 

As I went running out to save her I noticed the door from the house to the garage was open and hoped that Shelby hadn't got out.

When I got outside (running straight past Tiger), I saw that Shelby was at my neighbours door and her dog was trying to get outside to eat Shelby.

Tiger was pottering away totally oblivious. WTF?

How could he not hear my neighbour yelling and her dog barking and trying to break down the door? Bloody useless he'd be in an emergency, he wouldn't even know something was going down. Men. 

Wednesday 27 December 2017

December empties

Well I'm certainly seeing out the year with a decent amount of empties, mostly samples but I'm okay with that.






ASAP CC Cream
I really liked this CC, if I didn't have a whole pile of other bases I'd happily purchase a full sized tube. As it is, I'll probably take three years to work through my foundation/BB/CC stash by which time I will have forgotten about this one. 

Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Oil
Meh. It was okay. 

Alba Botanica Hawaiian Body Wash
Nice but not amazing. I'd buy it again if the price was right.

Alba Botanica Hawaiian Shampoo
Another nice but not amazing product. 

It's The Bomb Whipped Soap
I love a good whipped soap. They are quite difficult to find. Thankfully for me Lisa makes them so I can stock up whenever I need to. If you are yet to try a whipped soap, get onto it!

The Body Shop Spa of the World Polynesian Monoi Radiance Oil
Oh how I loved this oil. It smells wonderful, is hydrating without being greasy and a pleasure to use. I'll definitely repurchase. 

Natio Sunscreen
When I find a sunscreen that doesn't irritate Eljay and I, we buy it by the bucket load. This is one such sunscreen. I've already repurchased. 

Nuxe Dry Body Oil
I don't understand the hype with this. It smells lovely but that's its only redeeming feature. I find it too oily for my hair and too light for my body. It'd be a beautiful perfume.

Corrynne's Exfoliating Face Wash
I've been using Corrynne's regular face wash for around twenty years. This was my first time trying the exfoliating version, it won't be the last. Next time I head down there I'll buy a full sized tube.

Alcome Co Black Magic Activated Charcoal Toothpaste
After finishing my sample tub I've purchased a full sized jar. I'm thrilled with how much whiter and clearer my teeth look now. The only drawback is the mess. This is so very messy. In the mornings I'll brush my teeth in the shower so that I don't have a mess to clean up. No matter how careful I am I end up with a big mess in the basin. The charcoal doesn't easily wash away so I have to clean it up with a face washer every time I've done my teeth. 

Hylamide Nanoblur
When I've finished my other primers I'll be buying a full sized tube of nanoblur. If you like siliconey primers, you'll like Nanoblur. 

Lip Lip Lip Balm
My newest lip balm love. These balms are beautiful. I've been using the tinted ones almost exclusively since I got them and will be purchasing more soon as I'm onto my last tube now and the thought of running out sends me into a panic.

Neostrata Ultra Smoothing Cream
This tube was too small for me to be able to tell if it did anything. It did make my skin tingle which is usually a good sign.

Real Techniques Miracle Face Sponge
I love this sponge more than the Beauty Blender and have already purchased a replacement. 

L'Occitane Hand Cream
A staple in my collection. I've yet to find a hand cream that I like more than L'Occitane.



The standout item from all these samples is the Stila Aqua Glow foundation. It's so lovely that I immediately purchased a full sized bottle. the last thing I need is another foundation, but it's so beautiful that I had to have it. The coverage is medium to full with a subtle glow and a very natural finish. I look like I'm not wearing foundation, it's stunning.

Sunday 24 December 2017

Thoughts of the week

1. Did you know you can use puff pastry in your toastie machine? Me either. Ours developed a huge tear in it a few weeks ago (no idea how), so I immediately replaced it and for reasons unknownst to myself decided to read the user manual. I then discovered the life changing fact. You can use puff pastry in the toastie machine. Puff pastry toasties are awesome.

2. Andrea Bocellii and Ed Sheeran singing Perfect is the best thing I've heard all year. It's perfection. Heh. 

3. This week I received a Christmas present. It's the perfect purse. I've been considering changing my purse for a while now but haven't done so because the purse I use at the moment was a gift from Tiger and it's in perfect condition so changing it seems a waste. However, when I received the Sakroots Artist Circle Large Smartphone Crossbody Mini Bag-Purse in White Peace, I happily swapped over. What makes this the perfect purse is that it not only has room for all my cash, cards etc, it also has a slot for my phone, a wrist strap and a cross body strap. Perfect.

4. Even though we do a very low key, informal Christmas, I'll be glad when it's over. Everything has felt like such hard work this year.

5. Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you have a beautiful day tomorrow.

Friday 22 December 2017

FFS Friday - Authentic

First up I have to say a big hello to my beautiful Karen's Mum. Hi Mrs B!

The school year is now officially over. What a year it was. Poor Chai had the worst year of his short schooling life so far. Withdrawing him from school was one of the best things I've ever done. It reminded me how important it is to trust my instincts. I wish I'd done that sooner. If I'd trusted my instincts I would not have sent him to school when he was three, I would have insisted he start the year after. I would also have sent him to the beautiful free range school straight off.

This year taught me how important it is to do what's right for me and my family, not what society and the government say we have to do. We don't have to send our kids to school, we don't have to spend our lives working to pay off a house, we don't have to do anything that doesn't work for us or our family. 

It's easy to get caught up in doing what everyone else does, adapting to societal norms, which is fine if they work for you, but if they don't it's important to do what works for you. As parents it's our duty to do the best for our children, to advocate and fight for them because they can't fight for themselves.

Children are not second class citizens. They have needs and rights just like we do, however society thinks it's okay to treat children badly, in some instances it's even encouraged. If we wouldn't accept certain treatments as adults, then it's not okay to do those things to children.

Our school system is failing our most vulnerable children and yet nothing is being done about it. Naplan results came out last week, in several areas the standards are either worse or stagnant. What's being done about that? It's commonly known that the way we educate our children isn't working and yet nothing is being done to change that. 

We can talk with our choices. We can choose not to send our children to schools where they aren't educated and taught in a manner that works for them. We can discuss our issues with the school, the education department and our local member of parliament. If enough of us do that things will have to change. It's up to us. 

We don't have to blindly follow along. We don't have to do what society tells us to. If we want to be happy and fulfilled we need to walk our own path and speak our own truth. It's okay to be different, it's okay to choose the path less trodden. It's okay to be authentically and unapologetically you.  

Wednesday 20 December 2017

How I find the time to look after my skin and hair

Since having the boys I've had trouble finding time to take care of myself. Gone are my Sunday night face mask sessions where I'd lay on my bed and read whilst my face mask did it's work. Also gone are the days where I'd put a treatment in my hair and leave it in for an hour whilst I read or watched tv.

The lack of sleep really played havoc with my skin and I feel like I look ten years older than I did pre kids. Whilst I can no longer sit around for half an hour or more as my face or hair mask does it's thing, I can still find the time to look after myself.

I now apply my face masks in the morning. After I've had my coffee I wash my face then put on a face mask and leave it on whilst I'm getting the boys their breakfast and doing the morning stuff. That takes about half an hour, so by the time I'm finished it's time to get in the shower and wash the mask off. I do this around three times a week. On days when I'm in a rush I'll use one that only needs to be applied for five or ten minutes, put it on as I'm getting read for the shower and wash it off just before I get out of the shower. I love that most face masks now only need to be on for fifteen minutes or less.

I don't get to apply hair treatments as often as I'd like, mainly because I forget. If I'm having a day where we don't have to go out I'll put an oil treatment on my hair in the morning and wash it out at lunch time. Alternatively, I put the mask on at night, tie my hair up and sleep with a towel over my pillow so the pillow doesn't get covered in hair product. The next morning I wash my hair and I'm done. 

How do you fit skin and hair care into your routine?

Sunday 17 December 2017

Thoughts of the week

1. The new Vaseline Pink Bubbly lip balm is very, very similar to the By Terry lip balm. If you like By Terry's balm, get yourself a few of the Pink Bubbly balms whilst you can.

2. Hubby has got into BitCoin. He's all excited. I'm skeptical. Time will tell.

3. Makeup Forever is now stocked at Adore Beauty!!!!!

4. I went to Priceline to check out the Gigi Hadid for Maybelline products and was underwhelmed. Whilst the packaging is pretty, it's still just Maybelline.

5. The school year is officially over. Thank f@#k for that. 

6. Should I get a smart watch? My Fitbit band broke and I'm too stingy to pay for a new band. I'm wondering if it's worth getting a smart watch. My cousin has one and says it's brilliant. Hmmm.

Friday 15 December 2017

FFS Friday - Thank you

So. I've often wondered if my FFS posts are oversharing, making me sound crazy (I am), not funny or just a waste of time. I've mentioned this before. However, this week I got a beautiful email from a reader telling me that these posts helped her and I'm so very pleased. It's given me the courage to continue. I shall continue with my crazy oversharing, I shall continue with FFS Friday and I shall continue speaking my truth.

It's come to my attention that I'm just not enjoying motherhood lately. I'm over it. I'd like a week off from being a Mum, I just want to be me for a week. I want to wear nice clothes, use a handbag that isn't cross body, shop in peace, watch adult shows and just do whatever the hell I want.

On the other hand, I have a panic attack when I think about when the kids aren't here anymore. What the hell am I going to do? I don't have a career down here (my job can only be done in Perth or other capital cities) and I have no idea what I want to do. Crap. 

Meanwhile my boys are sitting here trying to figure out how to spell piss. Lovely. 

Motherhood is so glamorous.

Chai is still at cling factor 10. It's driving me nuts. Eljay thinks that following me around is what you do, because that's what Chai does all the time.


Saturday morning, by 8am, I'd tripped over them both at least ten times because they were trailing around after me. In desperation I came up with a game. I told them they were spies and they had to follow me around without me seeing them. Heh. They loved it and I did too because they weren't under my feet anymore. I'd see them creeping past the door giggling, or pretending to be invisible, it was very funny.

Despite that, Chai was still totally off. None of his sensory activities worked and he was so out of sorts. Sunday I found out why. One of his back molars is coming through.

The poor guy. No wonder he's all out of whack, it must be so painful. 


I have no idea how parents with special needs kids cope. Chai's needs are pretty low compared to other kids and yet I struggle. 


Motherhood wasn't supposed to be like this.


I suspect that most mothers struggle, yet they don't talk about it. 


A few weeks ago I was talking to another Mum about our kids sleeping (or lack of sleeping). When I told her that the boys sleep with us she let out a huge breath of relief and said she was so glad I'd been honest about the boys sleeping with us because all her friends say that their kids don't sleep with them and she felt like something was wrong with her and her kids. 


There's so much pressure on parents, why make them feel worse about where their kids sleep? As long as everyone is sleeping, who cares where it is? And why can't we be honest about it?


I'm not going to lie, if people can't handle my truth, that's neither my concern or my business.


Honesty people.

Wednesday 13 December 2017

My Summer lip wardrobe


I don't normally change my lip colours according to the season, however in an effort to finish products before they expire and get use out of more of my collection, I've decided to change my make-up with the seasons. I also revamped my make-up drawer and swapped everything around. You can see the products that are in my bag here

Lip colour is one area that I have trouble sticking to. I'll take out a few lipsticks, determined to use them up, but a few weeks later I'm bored so move on to something else. To combat that I've pulled out a whole pile of lipsticks so when I get bored I've got a good variety to choose from. I've put them all in a tub for easy access and chosen a range of different shades. 


MAC Bare Venus
It's a bit mean including this lipstick because it was limited edition so no longer available. However, it's part of my summer lip wardrobe so I'm including it. Bare Venus is my perfect nude lipstick. I have pigmented lips so most nudes make me look dead, but Bare Venus is the perfect mix of pinky nude that I can pull off. I never found a shade close to it, so once it's finished I'll be heading to The Lip Lab to get it copied.

Nars Dragon Girl Velvet Matte Lip Pencil
One of my all time favourite reds, this has been in my collection for way too long so it has to go. I'll repurchase it, but this one needs to be finished.The Nars Velvet Matte lip pencils are beautiful. Long lasting, non drying perfection. 

Lush Black Rose Lip Tint
Black Rose is a limited edition release for Halloween, however the naked version is still available on the Australian site so if you want one, grab it now. 
Lush have stepped up the game with their lip tints. In the past they were awful, lumpy and just not nice to use. The new version is smooth, creamy and long lasting. As the name suggests, Black Rose looks black in the tube, but applies as a lovely rosy maroon stain that lasts all day. 


Shanghai Suzy Miss Sophia Lilac lipstick
One of the first lipsticks I purchased from Shanghai Suzy was Miss Sophia Lilac. The colour is perfection. It was their first release with the old matte formula and grape flavour. Whilst I loved the colour I didn't love the flavour. You can imagine my delight when they re-released it in the moisturising formula with strawberry flavour. 
As soon as my local store had stock I bought one. 
It's probably silly to use up my favourite lipsticks, especially when this one is limited edition. I love this shade so much that I'm considering buying a backup or two.

Too Faced Unicorn Tears Melted Latex lipstick
I bought the Too Faced Unicorn set because unicorns, however I'm not one who can wear blue lipstick without looking dead. Despite that I still get use from the set because the Unicorn Tears lip products look beautiful under lipstick. They give the lipstick a gorgeous glow that looks truly amazing.I don't usually like shimmer in my lip products, however the shimmer that Unicorn Tears gives is just gorgeous.

Bite Beauty Velvet High Pigment Lip Pencil
If I could only use one brand of lip products for the rest of my life, it'd be Bite Beauty. All of their products are absolutely beautiful. The High Pigment Pencil is matte, hydrating and long lasting. 
Velvet is a wonderful bright pink that's bright without being overpowering. 

Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Tint
If you remember hypercolour tshirts and mood rings, you'll understand where my love of colour changing products came from. On me this shows as a light, natural flush of pink. The tint lasts all day on my cheeks and around six hours on my lips.



Swatches from bottom to top: MAC Bare Venus, Nars Dragon Girl, Lush Black Rose, Shanghai Suzy Miss Sophia Lilac, Too Faced Unicorn Tears, Bite Beauty Velvet, Jane Iredale Just Kissed

The Lip Lab lipstick and gloss
Going to The Lip Lab was a wonderful experience (you can read about it here). I made a lipstick and gloss in a gorgeous pinky mauve shade. The lipstick is their creme formula and super hydrating, as is the lip gloss. Once I've finished them both I plan to go back and get a different shade made.

Givenchy magic lip and cheek balm
I've had this for more years than I care to admit so it's time for it to go. I love it and use it happily but I won't be replacing it, purely because whilst I love it, it's not a holy grail. 

Benefit Benetint 
How cute is the little bottle? It even has a brush inside it, so cute. I'm sort of cheating with this because it's nearly finished. Like the Givenchy, I use it on my lips and cheeks, so hopefully it won't take too long to use up. I would buy it again if it came in a smaller bottle.

Lip Lip tinted lip balm
Lip Lip are my new favourite tinted balms. They're so beautiful. The tint is subtle but enough to brighten up my face and make me look like I have naturally rosy lips. I finished my first tube within 4 weeks and am now onto my second (and last tube). I need to order more!

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain No 4. 
This shade doesn't appear to be available any more, however they have other shades that look very similar. Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stains are the perfect blend of lip stain and lip gloss. They start out glossy and hydrating then once the gloss has worn off you're left with a gorgeous stain of colour. I've had mine for ages so I'm aiming to use it up as quickly as possible.

Revlon Precious Ultra HD Matte lipstick
If it hadn't been for Emma I wouldn't have bothered with these lipsticks because I'm not a fan of matte liquid lipsticks. I'm so very glad Emma sent me this one, because the formula is beautiful. It's not drying and doesn't totally set, so it feels lovely and hydrating on my lips. 


Swatches from bottom to top: The Lip Lab gloss, Givenchy Magic Lip and Cheek balm, The Lip Lab lipstick, Benefit Benetint, YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Lip Tint No 4, Revlon Precious Ultra HD.

Monday 11 December 2017

Updated Burt's Bees Lipstick review

Back in 2016 I wrote a review of the newly released Burt's Bees lipsticks. I'd used them for a few months and loved them. Since then a few things have changed, so I've updated my review.

As a huge fan of Burt's Bees products I was so excited when they announced they were releasing a lipstick range, I stalked their site daily waiting for them to become available. When they were I bought one straight away and then bought another one when I found them at Priceline. There are 14 shades available. Priceline only has 12 of the shades, David Jones carry the full range.


I purchased two shades, Blush Basin a lovely pinky nude and Lily Lake which is a mauve pink. The packaging is gorgeous and made of recyclable packaging.

Burt's Bees says: Intense colour meets conditioning 8-hour moisture. Full-coverage, vibrant colour in 14 shades made with 100% naturally moisturising ingredients like moringa and raspberry seed oils to help soften and condition your lips all day long. Smooth satin finish doesn't dry out lips. Helps to hydrate and moisturise lips leaving them feeling soft and smooth. Features naturally moisturising ingredients such as beeswax, moringa oil, raspberry seed oil and vitamin e.


Both lipsticks feel very balm like, I forget I'm wearing lipstick and feel like I'm wearing a balm. I don't find them to be particularly long lasting, I get about two hours wear before I need to reapply. I'd guess that the darker shades would last longer. There is a very light fragrance and no flavour.


One criticism I have is that the lipstick doesn't wind the whole way down into the tube. It was only a matter of time until I nicked the top of the lipstick.





Blush Basin on top, Lily Lake on the bottom
Blush Basin

Lily Lake
 

The photo below shows what happened to Lily Lake after about six months. I have no idea what the lumps are. They were hard, didn't dissolve and didn't have any colour in them. When I put the lipstick on you could see where the lumps had been as those parts of my lips had no colour on them.

At first I thought it might be shea butter, but they appeared in summer and didn't dissolve when the lipstick was warm. 

I posted the photo below on Instagram and several people said that the same thing had happened to their Burt's Bees lipstick too.

Poor Lily Lake ended up in the bin. A few months later the same thing happened to Blush Basin, so it ended up in the bin too.

Whilst I did initially love my Burt's Bees lipsticks, I won't repurchase because of the weird lumpy thing that happens with them. 

Ingredients: diheptyl succinate, castor seed oil, capryloyl glycerin/sebacic acid copolymer, beeswax, candelilla cera (candelilla) wax, sunflower seed oil, behenyl alcohol, oleic/linoleic/linolenic polyglycerides, C12-18 acid triglyceride, lanolin, hydrogenated vegetable oil, cera carnauba carnauba) wax, moringa oleifera seed oil, raspberry seed oil, sorbitan, tristearate, glyceryl caprylate, aroma, tocopherol, soybean oil, lauroyl lysine, citric acid, linalool. 
May contain: mica, titanium dioxide, carmine, iron oxides

Sunday 10 December 2017

Thoughts of the week

1. We've finally made some plans to fix up our garden and I'm so excited. I can't wait for it all to start taking shape. It'll be so nice having a garden that I want to be in instead of an ugly space that I don't even want to look at. 

2. The part I'm most excited about is....we're going to build a vertical garden on our back fence. I plan to grow succulents and herbs.

3. Stila's Aqua Glow Serum Foundation is beautiful. I got a sample from Mecca and loved it so much that I bought the full size, even though I don't need another foundation.

4. My cousin has got 3000 palettes to get rid of so I've been trawling the internet for things you can build with palettes. There are so many great ideas! We'll use some for the vertical garden and I'm trying to convince Tiger to use some to make us a headboard. If only I was good at woodwork I'd do it myself, but alas I am terrible.

5. Same sex marriage is now legal. What a historic event for Australia. I wasn't expecting it to get through so I'm very happy that it did. I'm pretty disgusted that some pollies abstained from voting.

Friday 8 December 2017

FFS Friday - I'm on fire

Tiger had to go back to work early again. FFS.

I really don't like it when he does long swings. The time he's away already feels like a lifetime, having him away longer makes it feel like two lifetimes.

The boys have been really struggling with him being away lately. No matter what I do I struggle to cheer them up, it's heartbreaking and really, really frustrating.

Poor Chai spent all of fly out day sobbing, trying not to cry and following me around. 

I have no idea what to say to him when he's like that. Distraction doesn't work, he's too upset to go to the park or to a friends house, so we just stay home and I hold him until he feels better. By the end of the day we are both drained.

FIFO sucks.

Next year should be easier because Chai will be at school again, hopefully.

We find out next Friday what teacher he'll get. Smart move by the school. They're releasing the class lists at 4pm Friday, which means you won't be able to enter into any discussions with them until next year.

It means I'll either spend the whole school holidays hopeful or worried. 

We're at the point where if he doesn't get a good teacher I'll just home school until we can get into the free range school. 

The free range school is beautiful. The setting is lovely, the students seemed really nice and the teachers were lovely. I have everything crossed that they'll find a position for my boys.

 I'm not above pleading my case, it truly would be the perfect school for the boys. 

What's with companies that don't offer free shipping? I find it so frustrating! Especially when you're spending hundreds of dollars.

A few days ago I went to place our WelleCo order. They normally have free shipping when you spend over $200. I was spending $229 and the shipping charge was $44! WTF?

I emailed them to see if there was a system error and they told me that they don't offer free shipping anymore. Seriously.

They were really nice and offered to give me the number for their Perth store so that I could have it shipped from there as that would be cheaper.

I have to wonder why a Perth based company ships from NSW, makes no sense to me.

The next day I got their newsletter with a free shipping code in it. 

You'd think they could have told me that! 

Not a good way to keep your customers loyal WelleCo.

Next time I'll just order from Nourished Life, they have free shipping for all orders. 

Wednesday 6 December 2017

MAC Syrup Lipstick

 
If I could only use one MAC product for the rest of my life it'd be their Lustre lipstick in Syrup. It's one of the few lipsticks that I've used up and it's one of two lipsticks that I've repurchased. I'm onto my third tube and it's still one of my most used lip products.
 

MAC describe Syrup as a cloudy pink. I'd call it a mauvey pink which on me is a shade darker than my normal lip colour. If you have pigmented lips, Syrup is the perfect everyday lip colour.

Lustre lipsticks have sheer to medium buildable coverage and a glossy finish. I find the lustre formula to be moisturising enough that I don't need to use lip balm underneath (unless my lips are really dry, in which case I'd be using lip balm instead of lipstick) and I love the vanilla fragrance.
 

Syrup is right up there with my all time favourite lipsticks, it's so easy to wear and the colour is beautiful.
 
 
What's your favourite lipstick?

Monday 4 December 2017

What's in my travel make-up bag


With holidays just around the corner I thought I'd share with you the products that I carry in my travel make-up bag. I keep these products packed so that if we have to go away I just grab the bag and I'm done. I started doing this when my FIL was sick and we often had to leave at a moment's notice. Over the years I've pared things down and only take products that I'll use.

It's tempting to take a huge range of products, but I've realised that I never use them and they just take up unnecessary space in my suitcase.


On holidays I'm all about effortless beauty. I want to look put together without looking like I'm wearing a tonne of make-up. I also don't want to spend ages getting ready every morning.

Here's what I take:

Dior Skinflash
I use this as both a highlighter and concealer. It gives just enough coverage to lighten up my under eye area. It also works well as an inner eye highlight.
 
Stila Evangeline Color Balm lipstick
On me this is the perfect mlbb colour. It lasts around six hours before I need to reapply and it has the hydration level of a lip balm.
 
Stila Indigo Stay All Day liquid eyeliner
I usually keep my eyes fairly nude, so a pop of bright eyeliner livens things up.
 
Smashbox Photo Matte Eyes
This palette is ideal for travel. It has a great range of colours and I can create most of the eye looks that I want to with it. Plus it's small so doesn't take up much room.

Clinique Moisture Surge CC
I love CC's, they give great coverage and feel light on my skin. The Clinique version is lovely, it gives light, buildable coverage. A light dusting of powder over the top and I'm good to go. 

ModelCo Instant Brows
Last trip I realised that I hadn't packed a brow product so picked up Instant Brows for half price at the supermarket. What a find. It's easily as good as the MAC and Shu pencils that I normally use, but half the price. The spoolie brush on the end makes it the only brow product I need.

Nude by Nature powder
Whilst this can be used alone as a foundation, I like to use it over the top of my CC. Together they give me a flawless, long lasting base.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette
This is my finishing touch. I use the first shade as an all over powder, the middle shade as a highlighter and the end shade as a light bronzer. 

Too Faced Better Than Sex waterproof mascara
Waterproof mascara is a must have on holidays!

Chantecaille Shy Cheek Creme
Whilst this is a cream blush it also works well as a light lip tint. It's easily one of the nicest cream blushes I've ever used and lasts all day without fading or shifting. 

Bare Minerals Elegant Taupe cream eye shadow
For budge proof, waterproof shadow look no further. It doesn't crease, fade or smudge, it stays put all day. 
 
What do you pack in your travel make-up bag?

Sunday 3 December 2017

Thoughts of the week

1. This year I tried bullet journaling. Whilst I liked it, I ultimately gave it up because I couldn't find a way to record my future appointments that worked for me. It all seemed to messy and all over the place. A few weeks ago I discovered Bullet Planner who do a range of bullet journal inspired planners. Mine arrived last week and I love it! 

2. It's our seventh wedding anniversary tomorrow. Tiger messed up his wedding vows and took me to be his awfully wedded wife. I'm never going to let him forget that one. 

3. We visited the free range school this week. It's the perfect school. Unfortunately they don't have any positions for next year so we have to go on a waiting list. Boo to that. 

4. Burt's Bees have released two new lip balms. Do you think I can find them anywhere locally? No!

5. I had my first ever mani/pedi this week. It was strange but fun. I'm not used to people touching me like that (other than hubby and the kids).

Friday 1 December 2017

FFS Friday - Fun

You know when you have a good idea that turns out not to be a good idea? I had one of those a few weeks ago.

I bought the boys a Kiddie Kutter knife each. They are special, kid safe knives that they can't cut themselves with.

The idea was that they'd be able to help with meal prep and use it to cut their meals up.

Silly me.

The boys decided their new knives were awesome and could be used for all manner of fun things like:
cutting up our furniture, stabbing balls, attacking the plants, cutting the lawn, sawing up toilet rolls, threatening to stab each other, hunting zombies, carrying around everywhere (to the park, supermarket etc), poking holes in fruit, "accidentally" making holes in their clothes etc.

I've been parenting for 6 1/2 years, I should have known this would happen. Rookie mistake. 

Ah well. I've now implemented knife handling rules and I inspect them before we go out to make sure they have no knives concealed on their person. Despite this there have been several occasions when they've managed to smuggle the knives out of the house and have proudly produced them at the most opportune moments such as at the bank, when playing with little kids at the park, etc.

Boys. They're so much fun.