Ranch Dressing

Here's a little look I put together in celebration of my two newest crushes: my Inglot eye shadows, and a hunky dorey necktie (or bolo tie) I recently discovered at an op-shop in Brunswick. I may do a review of my purdy Inglot palette in the coming weeks, so I wont harp on about that too much. I will rave about the necktie however, which was an absolute steal at AUD $4! The lady at the till actually asked me what I'd like to pay for it because the price tag had fallen off. I laughed and said "no more than $5", half joking and half hoping, and she popped it through for me without a moment's hesitation. Yay! Thank you Savers on Sydney Rd! Now I'm a real cowgirl!

My wild hair appears to be obstructing the tie, but you get the jist!

Here she is!

Her gleaming face!

I was immediately drawn to the beautiful gold detailing and the flat multi-faceted cut. It doesn't show up so well in this photo, but it really catches the light. I know it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I thought it was a bit of a lark. Plus, dare I say it, elegant?! 

To dress it up a bit, I paired the tie with a sheer, sleeveless, asymmetrical tunic with gold buttons, and a cropped blazer. Buttoning the tunic right up to my neck seemed to draw attention to the tie, but I imagine it would also work quite well loosened around a lower cut top. To bring out the gold I rummaged around my jewellery box and found a drop earring with gold rhinestones. This was a bit of a change for me as I'm usually so so faithful to my pearl studs. I know, right?! Branching out!

For my hair, I loosely curled it with my straightening iron, and then pinned, lightly hairsprayed and did a bit of a fingerwave at the front. Then, since I have a ridiculous obsession with wearing bows, feathers and flowers, I clipped in a little black bow I picked up from Diva.

Shiny shiny lids, care of the wonderous Inglot



All over my lids I wore my Inglot AMC Shine eye shadow in 31, and blended the 409 into my outer corner. I also added my MAC gel liner along the waterline to define my eyes. Keeping my lips fairly natural I opted for my Chi Chi lipstick in Centrefold as a base, with my Rimmel lippy in Airy Fairy over the top. I've had the latter lippy for years and years, but I've just recently rediscovered it. It's definitely made me want to go and test out some other Rimmel lipsticks though! I just love how they feel to wear, and the smell is really lovely.

Surpisingly, I'm not wearing a highlighter at all here. Just a MAC blush in Frankly Scarlet. Which is matte! I think the camera may be picking up the SPF in my moisturiser perhaps. Regardless, I like how it looks in these shots.

Yeehaw!



Girl About Melbourne

The other day I was lucky enough to experience the rarity that is a day off with my boyfriend. Shock horror! I know. So we made the most of the freedom, company and sunshine and headed into the city with intentions to visit ACMI That's the 'Australian Centre for the Moving Image' for all my international readers! We planned on seeing an interview with Melbourne director Amiel Courtin-Wilson: the genius behind the soon to be released feature film 'Hail' (keep your eyes peeled!) After what was a terrifically interesting talk we spent the rest of the day being creatures of leisure. Lots of milling about the city, drinking, people watching and window shopping. I took a few photos on my phone (hence the somewhat poor quality) that I thought I'd share with you. Onward!

Lipstick: 'Hot Stuff'' by Chi Chi
Blush: 'Frankly Scarlet' by Mac
Eyebrow Pencil: 'Hazel' by Rimmel & 'Frankly Scarlet' Blush by Mac

Head Scarf and Jacket: Op Shop
Skirt: Topshop London
Tights: River Island
Boots: Wittner
Bag: Topshop London

By the Yarra

Flowers and Dappled Sunlight. Ahhh!

A Slice of Iconic Melbourne



From the Bathroom in 'The Workshop'

I had to include this last photo because I thought it was just too pretty not to. It's looking out the window of the ladies bathroom in a bar on Elizabeth St called 'The Workshop'. I realise I'm probably a little late on the bandwagon as far as this venue goes but I really liked it. Such a nice, relaxed bar to have an afternoon beer or two. I wish I'd taken more photos of the actual bar but to be honest, I was too busy drinking and blathering on!

My Chaddy Haul!

I spent the day yesterday shopping up a storm at Chaddy with my Mum.  I had some vouchers and money I'd accumulated over Christmas and my birthday so I wanted to pick up some bits and pieces I had been eyeing off (and also a few exciting random purchases). I often try to avoid this particular shopping centre because it's colossal and houses so many brilliant cosmetics, skincare and fashion stores. For this reason it tends to wreak havoc on my purse! But gift money justifies a visit right? Anyway, on the off chance you might be interested I thought I'd share with you what I carted home with me.

Beauty by Vitalcare Mirror. $33 from Priceline.

For ages I've been doing my makeup in a poorly lit lounge room using a small mirror tentatively placed on an upturned tissue box. Not exactly an ideal setup. This solves everything. Good lighting AND a stand! Another bonus is that it's battery operated. So it's perfect for moving it to wherever you need it to go.

Beyonce Pulse Eau De Parfum 50ml. $49 from Perfume Connection.

I'd been lusting after this perfume since December but couldn't justify buying it for myself. When I saw it on sale I simply couldn't resist! Especially considering my perfume collection currently consists of three perfumes I no longer wear, one bottle I do and one roller ball bottle of Couture Couture by Juicy Couture. For anyone who hasn't smelt this it's fruity and floral. Like a gummy bear sitting on an orchid. Now there's a mental picture for you!

Revlon Nutricolor Creme in 600 Fire Red. $25 from Lattouf International.

I'd heard a lot of good things about this colour depositing treatment by Revlon. Beauty blogger All Dolled Up had mentioned it in a video saying that it does wonders for maintaining coloured hair. So I thought I'd give it a go. One tube is 100ml and they also have 250ml pump bottles, but they're fazing them out I believe. It replaces a conditioner and is said to last you four washes. This doesn't sound like much considering the price; however I only wash my hair once a week, so this will last me the month. 

Dragon's Egg Bath Ballistic. $6 from Lush.

I thought I'd treat myself to this little baby after the wonderment that was Lush's green bubbleroon. This is from Lush's standard bath bomb range. It smells fresh and zesty like lemon sherbet. Yummo! Plus apparently it has gold glitter in the middle!

Chi Chi Viva La Diva Lipsticks in Centrefold (left) and Drop Dead Gorgeous (right). $19 each from Myer. $28.50 for two with Myer's current offer of buy one Chi Chi product, get the second half price.

I've been head-over-heels for Chi Chi lipsticks of late. They're pretty comparable to Mac in terms of quality but a little bit cheaper. They're also a product of Australia which is hunky dorey. 

Centrefold

 I'd been on a mission to find this one since I'd swatched it in Target and Gloss, but it had been out of stock in both! As you can see, it's a nude. I never thought I'd see the day that I would purchase a nude lippie, but I was quite fond of this one. I think it'd be perfect for a bit of a 60's look when I want to go heavy on the eye makeup. Also, rather than being a straight matte finish, this one is a creamy matte. So it's a lot more comfortable to wear.

Drop Dead Gorgeous

I actually owned this one way back in the day when Chi Chi were packaging their lipsticks in cardboard tubes (what a terrible idea!). I absolutely loved the shade but had to throw it out because the tube was getting too manky for words. So when I discovered that Chi Chi were still making this shade I had to pick it up. I find this shade really warms my face up and does wonders for accentuating rose coloured blush. It's a matte finish though so it can be a little drying. Nothing a lip balm can't fix though. Ahhh. I love it.

Trina & Co Cosmetics Bag. $11 on sale at Target.

I needed a new bag to house my ever-growing collection of makeup. Plus using a pencil case for my brushes just wasn't cutting it! Then I stumbled across this little gem. It feels like a bit of a nod to Tiffany & Co which certainly wins points for me. The lining is navy and white polka dots and as you can see it has two sections. So I can now use one side for my brushes and the other side for my makeup. Success!

Travalo Excel Atomiser. $18 from Perfume Connection.

I can't exactly remember which blogger introduced me to this nifty product (I think it was A Sprinkle of Glitter), but I saw this at the counter of Perfume Connection and immediately snapped it up. If you haven't seen or heard about the Travalo before, it's basically a little handbag-friendly-sized perfume carrier. You just have to take the cap off one of your full sized perfumes, place the tube thingy in the end of the Travalo and keep pressing down until you can see that it's full. The see-through indicator on the side makes it easy. What a great idea! It's also small enough that you can chuck it in your carry-on luggage when travelling. They're available in lots of different colours too so that you can differentiate your fragrances. Or you can just marvel at how pretty they all are!

Over and out buddies!