Tuesday 28 February 2017

30 Day Minimalism Game

Today marks the end of my 30 Day Minimalism Game. It was a lot of fun and I had a great time getting rid of things. Since I didn't follow the rules properly I finished the game in 16 days instead of 30, which I must say I'm pretty pleased about.
Jar of assorted crap

Here's what I got rid of:

1 dressing table
110 items of clothing
7 pairs of shoes
3 baby blankets
8 plastic plates
1 table
4 hand sanitisers
2 single shoes that I couldn't find the match for, wtf?
7 handbags
4 expired baby lotions
8 expired foods from the pantry
51 magazines
11 glass jars
6 expired medicines
6 cans of cleaning product
1 makeup bag. 
2 wall hangings
1 sock
1 packet of baby food pouches
15 kitchen drawer things
1 photo frame
2 glass water bottles
3 chipped plates
29 assorted glass items (5 cups, 1 salad bowl, 2 plates, 1 dip set, 5 bowls, 7 shot glasses, 1 vase, 6 small bowls, 1 saucer)
1 empty craft glue (it leaked everywhere)
1 jar of assorted crap
2 tubs of expired protein powders
1 packet of b12 sachets
1 kids fold-out lounge      
15 empty boxes
5 books
4 coat hangers
1 picnic wine set 
3 suit bags
1 smoke alarm
1 camera case
1 ripped pillow slip
36 candle things
54 items from the plastic drawer including 28 lids!
18 beauty products
1 ripped quilt cover
14 fridge magnets
21 cd cases.
Why did I keep this stuff? Most of it is rubbish!
I also threw out, sold or gave away a whole pile of things out of the boys toy room. I stopped counting after 200, at a guess I'd say it was well over 500. 

I thought that it was going to be a walk in the park but it wasn't quite as easy as I expected, mainly because I couldn't just get in there and sort through things unless Tiger was home. I got to day 13 and hit a wall so had to wait for Tiger to get home to continue. Trying to declutter with Eljay "helping" is rather difficult. When I could get into it without interruption it was easy. I even managed to unpack nine boxes that have been sitting there since we moved into this house 3 1/2 years ago!

My sister in law lent me a book case so I was able to put all my books out which I'm absolutely thrilled about. I also found my favourite cd's that have been missing since we moved, I thought they'd been lost.  


I was amazed at all the crap I'd kept hold of. Lids with no match, old sauce bottles and other useless things. Expired products were scary, I found a hand sanitiser that expired in 2014, soft drinks that expired in 2015 and other random foods that had expired years ago. Gross. 

There were a few points where I felt overwhelmed and wanted to give up. We have so much crap in the house and I didn't know where to start. I'd look at something, shake my head and then walk away again. To resolve this I started small. I'd spend five minutes decluttering then I'd stop and come back to it later. 

Whilst I decluttered a lot there is still a long way to go. I need to get rid of more things out of the toy room, the junk room is still full of junk, the spare room has a whole pile of crap in it and so does the rest of the house. I could probably complete a month's Minimalism Game just on the kitchen alone.

As I said in my first post I'm going to continue doing the Minimalism Game every month until the house is decluttered. Is this something you're interested in seeing posts about? If it is I'll continue to post my progress.

Monday 27 February 2017

Qsilica Naturally Clear Blemish Control Kit


Qsilica Naturally Clear Blemish Control Kit is a three step system that contains vegan Skin Support tablets, a cleanser and spot gel. The cleanser is used twice a day, the spot gel as needed and you take two tablets a day with a large glass of water. 

Whilst I don't have acne, I have been getting quite a few spots over the last few months, so I was thrilled when I got the chance to trial this kit.  

The cleanser is lovely. I was a little apprehensive about using a foaming cleanser as they're usually too drying on my skin, however I had no problem using the Naturally Clear Skin Cleanser. It cleanses effectively and doesn't dry my skin. I'm not left with that awful squeaky clean feeling, my skin feels soft and comfortable after use. It doesn't sting my eyes either which is an added bonus. 

In order to truly put it to the test I gave the cleanser to my nephew to try. He's a teenager with pimple and sensitive skin. He loved it and didn't have any irritation.

Out of the three products my favourite is the spot gel. Some of you might remember many years ago The Body Shop had an aloe vera spot gel that was amazing. I've never found anything else like it until I started using my Qsilica spot gel. It has a slight tea tree scent, doesn't sting upon application and helps to quickly heal my pimples. I put it on a blind pimple that had been brewing for two days and the next morning it was gone!

If you have problem skin this is definitely worth trying. The pack has a rrp of $59.95 but you can find it online cheaper than that. 

All of the products can also be purchased separately. The cleanser costs $24.95, spot gels is $17.95 and the tablets are $29.95. 

Cleanser ingredients: aqua, glycerin, peg-120 methyl glucose dioleate, caprylyl/capryl glucoside, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium chloride, sodium lauroamphoacetate, silica, vitamin e, lavender oil, jojoba seed oil, avocado oil, agonis fragrans branch/leaf oil, sandal wood oil, soy oil, ethylhexylglycerin, citric acid, phenoxyethanol, sodium citrate, melaleuca leucadendron cajaputi leaf oil, farnesol, linalool.

Spot Gel ingredients: aqua, glycerin, alcohol, bilberry fruit extract, sugar cane extract, silica, aloe barbadensis leaf juice powder, salicylic acid, epilobium angustifolium flower/leaf/stem extract, cucumber fruit extract, tea tree leaf oil, willow bark extract, orange fruit extract, lemon fruit extract, sugar maple sap extract, olive leaf extract, carrageenan, hydroxyethylcellulose, allantoin, sodium salicylate, t-butyl alchol, sodium anisate, sodium levulinate.

Tablet active ingredients:  300mg barberry root, 1g burdock root, 2.5g green tea leaf.
Nutrients: 139.04mg silica, 96mg sinc gluconate, 1000IU vitamin A, 20mg vitamin B3, 12.16mg pyridoxine hydrochloride, 87.34mg calcium pantothenate.

Note: These products were provided for review. 

Friday 24 February 2017

FFS Friday - Doona days

I've mentioned before that I'm downsizing my stash and decluttering. In previous years I always had back-ups of all my skin and hair care, but now I've got to the point where I don't have many back ups.

A few weeks ago I placed an order for shampoo and conditioner as mine were about to run out. I had enough to last me two weeks and my order usually arrives within a week so there was plenty of time.

A week came and went with no sign of my package. Two days after it should have arrived the tracking showed it was in Perth so I was expecting it on Monday. Saturday I ran out of shampoo.

Of course Saturday was also the day that I put a hair treatment in that I couldn't wash out, so I desperately needed to rewash my hair on Sunday, but I had no shampoo.

I wasn't particularly worried as I knew my package would be on my doorstep Monday morning. Or not.

Monday I checked and my package was in Busselton. WTF? That's half an hour south of me. 

I tweeted Australia Post to see if they could help but they didn't get back to me so I rang them. Turns out that they'd accidentally sent the package to Busselton and weren't sure when I'd get it. 

It finally turned up on Tuesday, a day off two weeks after it'd been posted. 

How ridiculous that I can get a package from overseas quicker than I can get it from the other side of Australia.

I had considered going and buying a travel sized shampoo to so that I could wash my hair but decided to be feral with dirty hair. That's the good thing about long hair, you just tie it up and no-one knows how filthy it is. Heh.

Getting Chai to school every day is a major drama. He starts from the minute he wakes up and doesn't stop all morning. When I leave him at school he's sobbing, it's awful.

Tuesday morning he started as soon as he woke up. "I don't want to go to school." "Can I stay home please." "I hate school."

Getting everyone ready was a huge drama. Chai wouldn't stop crying, Eljay was being a mischief, I had a headache, it was awful. 

I managed to get us all dressed and in to the car. 

As we were driving to school I realised I hadn't given the kids breakfast, brushed their hair or done their teeth. Mothering fail.

We got to Chai's classroom, saw a relief teacher there and Chai fell apart. He was really panicky and very upset.

I took one look at him, packed everything back into his bag and took him home again. 

Knew I shouldn't have bothered.      


We had a great day at home, Chai was so happy that he got to come home again. I've decided that every now and again, when everything is too difficult in the mornings we're just going to have the day off.

Monday 20 February 2017

The whipped soap you all need


My favourite soap formula by far is whipped soap. I love everything about it, the fragrance, the texture and how lovely it feels to use. Unfortunately whipped soap isn't very easy to come by and it's usually quite expensive.  When one of my friends started making bath and body products I asked her to make a whipped soap and she did!


I love the light texture, the creamy feeling and how easily it melts. The other thing I love is that unlike bar soap, it doesn't go soggy and the boys don't try to smoosh it all down the drain. I purchased the Energy scent which is amazing, so fresh and citrusy, just what I need first thing in the morning to wake me up. It'd be a great candle scent too (hint hint Lisa!)

They are also a great shaving soap, which I'm not telling Tiger because he'll steal my pot. I'm pretty sure he'll figure it out soon enough though, he always checks out anything new that appears in the shower.  

Unlike other whipped soaps I've used, the It's The Bomb ones are great value. I only need to use a tiny amount (about a 50 cent piece) so a tub will last for ages (as long as I manage to keep it away from Tiger and the boys). When I've used whipped soaps in the past they're been very light which meant I needed to use a lot and a tub would only last me around a month.

It's The Bomb Bath and Body Products Whipped Soap costs $15 for a 200 gram pot. If you worked that out to a cost per use, it'd probably be about 1cent per wash.

You can purchase It's The Bomb products from their Facebook page.

Sunday 19 February 2017

Thoughts of the week

1. I've been reconnecting with old friends lately and I love it. In the last few months I bumped in to two friends who I haven't seen in over 15 years. Thursday I heard that another great friend who I haven't seen for about five years will be here in April. Happy days.

2. One of my friends, her husband and two children have just packed up and embarked on a journey around Australia for an indefinite amount of time. Living the dream.

3. Ed Sheeran has released another song. I can't wait for the album to come out.

4. I was at the Woolies self serve checkout on Thursday and the lady (who I see all the time!) thought I'd stolen something. Not sure why. She watched me scan everything (I only had 3 items) and then once I'd paid she checked my receipt. Strange.

5. I've read that Coles and Woolies are losing billions of dollars to theft now that they've introduced self service checkouts. I'll bet having checkout staff would cost a lot less than the theft is!

Friday 17 February 2017

FFS Friday - Synergy

This year I finally organised a birthday party for Chai. 

It's the first time he's had a party, every other year we've just done a small celebration with family.

Tiger and I chose the day, I sent out the invites and then realised that it's on a long weekend. FFS.

I'm hoping that most of his friends aren't going away that weekend. 

Initially I invited 19 kids, but after finding out it was a long weekend I panicked and invited his whole class. I've now invited 32 kids. Oops.

I'm also hoping that the weather is nice because we're having the party at a park. 

My instincts to take the kids and run away are strong at the moment. Chai's anxiety is a lot worse since he started school. I hate to see him suffering. 

I also hate the stupid school system that puts so much pressure on kids when they are way too young to be learning.  

Chai has a meltdown every morning and every evening. In the mornings he cries from the moment we get up and he's still crying when I drop him at school. 

When I pick him up he's happy but it takes the tiniest thing to start a huge meltdown that lasts for an hour and a half. My poor boy.

I saw the Dr and got a referral to a paediatrician and psychologist but I really shouldn't have to. The stupid school system shouldn't be putting kids in a position where they need counselling, it's ridiculous.

When Tiger gets home we're going to talk to the school about putting him back in to Pre Primary. I'll bet they won't do it. If they won't then we're going to seriously consider home schooling. I refuse to subject my child to such pain and pressure. It's not healthy and I will not be a part of it.

I'm also considering lobbying the Education Department to have the system changed. I just need to find out how.

His school is lovely and so is his teacher, but they have to administer the curriculum even though most of them admit that it's too much pressure for the kids. 

I'm halfway through my 30 day Minimalism Game. It's a lot of fun but not quite as easy as I though it'd be. I have a whole pile of things to throw out so I thought it'd be a breeze, and it would be if Tiger was home and I have time to sort through everything. Trying to sort things out with Tiger away is proving difficult. I'm determined though and will solider on. 

 There has been a lot of synergy happening in my life lately and I love it.     

Thursday 16 February 2017

Things to Try Thursday

Today I'm talking face sprays. In my opinion the humble face spray doesn't get enough appreciation. They're such a versatile product and yet they're rarely mentioned. Let me introduce you to some of my favourites.

Echolife Lavender Facial Mist - If you look closely you'll see that my bottle is all dirty. That's because the boys love this mist and use it all the time. The lavender scent is beautifully calming and the mist is very soothing on sore, irritated skin. The boys like to use it when they're hot, it helps cool them down. I use it when my skin is irritated or if I'm sunburned. I keep mine in the fridge so it's lovely and cool.

Cinch Face Cheat - Face Cheat is the most unique of all my face sprays because it's an anti-ager, primer, moisturiser and illuminator in one. What a brilliant idea. On my dry skin I still need to use a moisturiser, but it does provide extra hydration. I use it two ways, either underneath my foundation as a primer, or over the top of my foundation to provide extra glow. I also use it during the day to freshen up when my skin is feeling dry.

Audra James Orange and Peppermint Aroma Mist - This is another one that I keep in the fridge. The scent is beautifully uplifting, perfect for hot summer days. Because Audra custom makes her products you can get the Aroma Mist in any fragrance you want. I'm planning on getting a floral mix when I finally use up my current stash of face mists. 

Simplicite Hydrating Floral Toning Spritz - The newest addition to my collection has quickly become a favourite. The floral scent is beautifully calming. I like to use this under my moisturiser for an extra boost of hydration. It's also really nice used as a light hair fragrance. 

What is your favourite face mist?

*Note - The Simplicite Spritz was gifted to me.

Tuesday 14 February 2017

I'm doing the 30 day Minimalism Game

As I've said before, this is a year of change for me. I have three main aims for this year; sort our finances, declutter the house and create a calm household. I've been really inspired by The Minimalists and have decided to do their 30 Day Minimalism Game. The idea is that you start on the first day of the month so it's easy to remember how many products you need to get rid of.

Here's how it works. On day one you get rid of one product, day two you get rid of two products etc. By the end of the month you've disposed of at least 465 products. You can give away, sell or throw them out, but they have to be out of the house by the end of the day. 

Since I'm not great at following orders, I've changed the rules. I'm not starting at the beginning of the month, I'm not throwing out one product on day one, two on day two etc and I'm not having them out of the house by the end of that day. I'll declutter an area, count how many items I've gotten rid of and assign them to a day. I feel a bit like I'm cheating because I have so many things to declutter that it's not a very difficult task. What I've decided to do is keep on going for as long as it takes me, so I could potentially be doing the 30 day game for six months.

Once I've decluttered all the easy stuff I'll be keeping in mind something I saw on The Minimalist Facebook page. "Would you buy it again?" I'm looking at things and asking myself if I'd buy it again. More often than not the answer is no. The second part of the question is "If you wouldn't buy it again, why do you still have it?" Out it goes!

Have you done the game? Want to join me? The more the better, it'll be fun!

Monday 13 February 2017

Finally, coconut oil in a tube!

You know those people who use coconut oil for everything? I'm not one of them. My Mum goes through heaps of it, she uses it in place of butter. I can't eat coconut oil because it irritates my belly (thanks Crohn's). Despite that I've tried my hardest to be a coconut oil lover. I've tried using it as skin care, a hair treatment, rash treatment and a whole pile of other uses but it just doesn't work for me. In winter it's hard so I can't get it out of the jar. In summer it's so runny that I make a mess everywhere, it's too much hard work. 

If you feel the same way, let me introduce you to Coco Niu (pronounced coco-nee-you). It comes in a tube!


Why didn't someone think of this sooner? Coconut oil in a tube is magic! In cold weather it squeezes out quite easily and in summer it pours into my hand with no mess. Perfect! I'm now quickly turning in to one of those people who uses coconut oil for everything. I've been loving it as a make-up remover, it quickly removes all my make-up (including eye make-up) without irritating my skin. 
As a hair treatment it's pure magic, I put it through the ends of my hair, leave it overnight, wash my hair in the morning and voila, baby soft hair. 

Coco Niu is made from hand picked coconuts that have been made into virgin coconut oil by cold pressing in a sterile environment. It's 100% coconut oil with nothing else added. 

You can purchase Coco Niu products from their website.
A 100ml tube costs $14, three tubes cost $42 and five tubes cost $70. Shipping is free when you spend over $30.

Sunday 12 February 2017

Thoughts of the week

1. Chai's school has just started Crunch and Sip. It's where the kids get to eat fresh fruit or vegetables and drink water at a set time in class. Whilst I think it's a brilliant idea, it's sad that it need to be a thing. Chai's school meals are mainly fruit and vegetables, along with a sandwich, some cheese and a treat like fruit ropes or something similar. He only drinks water. 
Apparently a lot of children aren't sent to school with fruit, vegetables or water. What the hell do they eat if they aren't eating fruit and vegetables? What a sad state of affairs. 
Having said that I'm very, very fortunate that both my boys love fruit and vegetables, it'd be awful if they didn't. 

2. Sometimes people really disappoint me. The way they can be so cruel and callous towards others is upsetting. 

3. Tiger and I are finally starting to agree on our finances. For years I've been the saver and he's been the spender, now we're both agreeing that paying off debt and spending less is a good thing, yay!

4. This was Chai's first full week of school and his second week back. He's still struggling and doesn't want to be there. Frankly I don't want him to be there either, I want him at home. Most of my friends were glad to send their kids back to school, I wasn't. I'd love to have him home every day, we had a great time on the school holidays. 

5. So apparently putting a condom over a beauty blender to replicate the effect of a silisponge is a thing. If a make-up artist ever tried to use a condom on my face I'd run screaming. 

Friday 10 February 2017

FFS Friday - Breastfeeding

After three years and five months, Eljay is finally weaned. Yes, that's right, I breastfed Eljay for almost three and a half years. It's not something I planned, it's just how things worked out because I wanted him to wean himself when he was ready. Turns out he wasn't ready until a few weeks ago. He still asks for a feed every now and again, but I say no now, he's more than old enough to wean.

Chai weaned himself at seventeen months. He was only feeding at night time and wasn't very interested in it so one night I didn't offer him a feed, he never asked for it again and that was it. I was envisioning something similar with Eljay but it didn't happen. Eljay has always loved feeding. Chai loved feeding but was easily distracted. Eljay wasn't. Until he was two he was still feeding during the day. When he turned two I started refusing if he asked for a feed during the day. I continued to feed him to sleep. A few times I tried to talk him out of having a night time feed but he wouldn't be in it. I wasn't going to deny him a feed and have him cry to sleep.

A few months ago he decided that he wanted to start sleeping in the same bed as Chai. I told him that he could either have a feed or cuddle to sleep in Chai's bed. Sometimes he'd cuddle to sleep and sometimes he'd feed to sleep. He started choosing to cuddle to sleep more than he chose to feed and over the last few weeks he only fed to sleep once. It's been about a week now since he's had a feed. He asked for a feed once and I said no. When he asks for a feed I offer him a cuddle and he's happy enough with that. I've told him that he drunk all the milk and there's none left, he seems happy with that explanation.

I'm sure the reason he fed for so long is because it's time where it's just the two of us. It's time where he has me all to himself and he gets a long, uninterrupted cuddle.

Between both boys I've breastfed for five years. My breastfeeding journey, whilst difficult at times, was very satisfying. I'm glad that I was able to exclusively feed both my boys and glad that they both weaned when they were ready. 

I'm one of those fortunate people who only had positive breastfeeding experiences. I fed both boys anywhere and everywhere, in cafes, restaurants, walking around the shopping centre, wherever I happened to be. People were always nice, accommodating and helpful.

There's only one time something happened and Tiger quickly sorted it out. We were at a shopping centre and I was feeding Chai. A man had been sitting on the same side as us but as soon as I started feeding he moved opposite me, put his sunglasses on and sat there staring. He quickly moved on after a few choice words from Tiger, hahaha. 

Feeding Chai was really difficult for the first three months. It was really painful. I didn't get cracked or bleeding nipples but feeding hurt for three months. I saw a lactation consultant who said that he was latching correctly but it still hurt. For the first six weeks getting him to latch correctly was difficult, but in week seven one day he just got it and after that it was easy. I had sore nipples for three months and then it magically stopped hurting. 

Feeing Eljay was a lot easier. I knew what I was doing, he could latch properly right from the start and my nipples only hurt for four weeks. 

I'm not one of those people who loved breastfeeding. I hear people talk about it like it's the best thing in the world. I don't really understand that. I was happy to breastfeed but it's not something that I loved. I liked being able to nourish my babies and loved the convenience of not having to prepare bottles. I'm also very grateful that I was able to successfully feed both boys, I know a lot of people who aren't so lucky. 

I'm ready to stop feeding however it is a time I'll look back on fondly.

Thursday 9 February 2017

Things to try Thursday

After falling off the wagon for a while, things to try Thursday is back!

Today I've got a random bunch of products that I've been loving over the last few months.

Jergens BB Body sat unloved in my cupboard for ages until I finally pulled it out this summer. They claim that it has five beautifying benefits:
  • Hydrates and smoothes
  • Brightens and illuminates
  • Evens skin tone
  • Visibly firms skin
  • Minimises the appearance of imperfections 
I can't say that I agree with all of the claims. It's a body lotion so of course it hydrates and smoothes, that's what body lotions are all about isn't it? Immediately after application my legs do look a little brighter, so I'll agree with the brighten and illumination claim, but as for the rest of the claims I call bullshit. Having said that, BB Body is a lovely body lotion that I'll happily repurchase. It's hydrating, absorbs quickly and smells good which is everything I want from a body lotion. 

Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Aid has been in my collection for a while now but was very unappreciated. I'd use it every now and again but it wasn't love until recently. I exfoliate my lips regularly and use petrolatum free lip balms, however my lips were really lumpy and no matter how much I exfoliated them I couldn't get rid of the lumps. In desperation I pulled out my Lemonaid Lip Aid and used it one night before bed. When I woke up the lumps were nearly all gone! After the second night they were all gone. It's now become my night time lip balm and my lips love it. No more lumps, yay!

I'm having a bit of a love affair with It Cosmetics at the moment. My latest love is their CC+ Colour Correcting Full Coverage Cream. It has an SPF of 50+ and doesn't irritate my skin at all. On hot days I'll wear it on top of sunscreen but on days where the UV index isn't as high I'll use it alone. It gives natural looking full coverage and I don't even need to use a powder over the top. 

In one of my Nourished Life orders I purchased some Weleda perfume samples. I've been wanting to try their perfumes for a while but don't have any stockists locally, so when I saw that Nourished Life have samples I bought all three of the scents. Whilst they're all lovely my favourite is Jardin die Vie Rose which is a beautiful rose scent. If you are on the hunt for a natural perfume check these ones out!

Wednesday 8 February 2017

Rodial Glam Balm Lip




Rodial Glam Balm Lip has been on my wish list for ages but I've never seen it in store. I'm not sure why we don't have Glam Balm Lip here, because we have other Rodial products. I bought mine from Feel Unique a while ago. They don't stock Rodial products any more, however you can purchase Glam Balm Lips from Strawberrynet for $29.50 or from ASOS for $26.60. If you live in the US or UK you can also purchase directly from the Rodial website.

My pot is the old design, the new pots are purple and look really cute, I want another one just so I can have the new packaging.


Rodial says: Rodial glam balm lip is an intensive lip balm designed to hydrate, smooth and protect the lips. Shea butter and vitamin e soothe and soften the skin while hyaluronic filling spheres and rose wax offer optimum hydration to plump up lips. 

I'm disappointed to say that I don't get any plumping effects at all. Despite that, I do like Glam Balm Lips. It smells like roses, has no flavour and hydrates well. The texture is quite light and feels silky smooth. If you aren't a fan of rose scented products this is not the balm for you as the scent lingers, I can smell it until the balm wears off.

I need to reapply every three hours, more often if I'm eating or drinking. Whilst it's not a cheap balm (or very easy to get in Australia), the 10 gram pot means it'll last a long time. The pot is wide and low, I wish all lip balm pots were the same, because I can get the balm out without it going underneath my fingernail. Another great thing about the pot is that the lid is a mirror. I'm not sure if the new packing has a mirrored lid, but from the photos I've found online it appears that it does.
 

Ingredients: hydrogenated polybutene, diisostearate malate, tridecyl trimellitate, castor seed oil, petrolatum, c10-30 cholesterol/lanosterol esters, synthetic wax, ethylhexyl palmitate, shea butter, rosa damascena flower extract, sunflower seed oil, flavour, benzyl alcohol, pomegranate extract, tocopherol, silica dimethyl silylate, mica, water, dehydroacetic acid, butylene glycol, caprylyl glycol, geraniol, citronellol, sodium hyaluronate, phenoxyethanol, limonene, hexylene glycol, eugenol, linalool, carrot seed oil, carrot root extract, beta-carotene, ascorbyl palmitate, titanium dioxide, carmine.

Monday 6 February 2017

The everyday face menu

Lately I've unintentionally developed a make-up uniform. I wear the same few looks every day. It makes getting ready in the morning really easy and I'm hoping it'll mean that I actually use up some of my make-up. My make-up needs to last around fourteen hours so I go for products that are long lasting and don't fade, crease or smudge.

I choose my base depending on the coverage I need. If I don't need much coverage I'll just use Insta Flawless. When I  want more coverage I'll use Insta Flawless as a primer with either Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser, Rimmel Radiance BB Cream, It Cosmetics CC+ or L'oreal Infallible Matte foundation. If I want a little extra coverage or feel the need to have a matte face I'll add some Maybelline Super Stay powder on top. If you haven't tried this powder you need to, it gives gorgeous flawless coverage. 

Most days I don't bother with concealer but if I do my go to concealer is Maybelline Master Conceal. It's a real gem of a product, the coverage is brilliant and it doesn't settle into fine lines.

I'm using two blushes at the moment, Becca Beach Tint in Watermelon and Givenchy Magic Lip and Cheek Balm. As the name suggests, the Givenchy can be used as a lip balm too. When I use it as a blush I'll dab the excess onto my lips over the top of Maybelline Perpetual Peony.

This year I want to finish Maybelline Perpetual Peony, Revlon Ultra HD Peony and MAC Bare Venus lipsticks so I'm using them exclusively until they're done. I'd thought that I wouldn't like only having three lipsticks to use but I'm really enjoying it. I haven't missed my other lipsticks at all, which tells me that I could happily destash and have around ten lipsticks. I use Dr Brandt's Xtend Your Youth Lip Filler and Volumizer as a lip primer. I'm hoping it'll help get rid of the two horizontal lip lines I've developed, I'll keep you posted on that one.

I'm really loving the new Essence Extreme Lasting eye pencil in Rockin' Taupe. It's a gorgeous colour and lasts all day without fading or smudging. I'm considering getting a backup because I love it so much. On days where I don't want to wear eyeshadow I smudge my eyeliner along my top lashline for definition and a bit of a smoky look, it looks like I've made a lot more effort that I have.

I use my Rimmel Scandaleyes in Taupe smudged on my bottom lashline, it makes my eyes look more polished, not sure why. 

On the days I can be bothered with eyeshadow I use either MAC Painterly Paint Pot or Clarins Taupe Ombre Matte eyeshadow. I use Painterly when I've had a bad night and need to brighten things up and Clarins Taupe when I want to look like I've put in some effort. Both of them are crease free and last all day, however I use Too Faced Shadow Insurance as an extra back up. 

Brows are Shu Uemura Hard Brow Pencil in Acorn and mascara is Nude By Nature Allure Defining Mascara in brown.

Do you have a make-up uniform? What are your go to products?

Sunday 5 February 2017

Thoughts of the week

1. Summer holidays are over and Chai is back at school. I miss the holidays and having my baby at home with me.

2. Eljay loves him not being here but misses him at the same time. 

3. This is very interesting. Who knew filters could be used on video's? I certainly didn't. 

4. The Green Machine beat Mundine and now they've both retired. I'm so glad Danny Green won.

5. Silverbeet pie is amazing. 

Friday 3 February 2017

FFS Friday - Dumping

I've been thinking a lot lately about possessions, lifestyle, consumerism and how I want the boys to be raised. Our lifestyle has been very material and it's not how I want to be. I knew we were like that when we lived in the city, however I hoped that moving to the country would change us. It did change things for me, but not so much for Tiger. I'd love us to be on the same page when it comes to life goals and where we're heading but we're not. Tiger isn't one to have a plan or to think about what he wants from life, he just wanders aimlessly without any thought, which I find very frustrating.

A few weeks ago I watched the Minimalism documentary on Netflix. It was really interesting and inspiring. We have a whole houseful of possessions and yet most of them mean nothing to me. In a fire the only things I'd want to save is our identification, the hard drive with our photos on it and my coffee machine. Everything else can burn. If everything means so little to me, why do I still have it? What makes me hold on to things that I don't value?

Obviously some things I keep out of necessity. We need cooking utensils, towels etc but what about the rest of the stuff? Chai's art work I keep for sentimental reasons, I'd love to find a way to keep it all without it creating clutter. I need to come up with a filing system for it.

Slowly but surely I'm determined to go through the house and throw out everything we don't love or use.

I'm convinced that clutter contributes to a low mental state. Having so much clutter causes stress. It makes things more difficult and slows my brain. It also leeches my motivation and makes me not want to do anything. The problem with so much clutter is I don't know where to start. We've got a lot of stuff that we could sell and the money would be really helpful, but that means going through the clutter and re-organising it. I'm more inclined to donate it all to charity, it's a lot quicker and means that everything isn't hanging around once I've sorted it. 

The thought of getting rid of everything and starting again is very appealing. If I feel that way you'd think that decluttering would be easy and yet I still struggle to get rid of things, I suppose it's because I don't want to waste them. Getting rid of things isn't wastage though, because I give them away to friends or charity. 

For a while I struggled with how to get Tiger to change his point of view, but I've decided that I'll change myself and hopefully he'll see things differently because of that. I can only control myself, not the people or things around me.

So yeah. There's not really any point to this ramble, it's just a brain dump of my thoughts.