All Tressed Up (And Nowhere To Go)

I absolutely love playing around with my hair. I always have. I think it's a bit of a creative outlet for me. So often though (as is the case here) I'll spend a decent little chunk of time and thought creating a look that I'm proud of, only to waste it on a boring ole' work day. Which, to be honest, is a bit of a bummer. At the end of the day the bobby pins come out, and it's completely forgotten about (even by me). So from now on, I'm going to try to make more of an effort to take photos of the hairstyles I create. Well, the ones that particularly strike my fancy.

This look here, is today's concoction. A vague nod to the screen siren's of 1930's. I should probably mention that generally, I don't start styling my hair with the end result in mind. I feel like, if I have a plan, it rarely turns out the way I want it to, and then I get all stressed and flustered. Instead, I like to just pin it in places and see what begins to form. I know that may sound a little strange, but it works for me. To create this look, I used a hair tie, some bobby pins, and some hairspray to set it all with. I started off by brushing my hair into a side pony tail, tying it, and then pulling some bits loose and pinning them. Absolutely no curling required.

Over this past month, I've been craftily trying to disguise my regrowth before my much needed trip to the salon (c'mon Thursday!!). To me, this look actually makes the most of a bad situation. I feel like the dark regrowth gives the style more dimension and has quite a striking effect. I even had a couple of people mention to me that they really liked the two-tone effect. So yay for that! Still - bring on the dye baby!! 

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!



Night Owl: An Evening Look

I don't really do big nights out these days. Usually because of a lack of money, time or interest. I'll sooner choose a live gig or a night on the couch, watching dvd's and drinking tea, than trotting around a dance floor toting an overpriced glass of bubbly. Still, on the rare occasions I do...ahem...'club' (usually on someone's birthday, as was the case here) I relish in dressing up. Here's a little evening look I had fun putting together before a birthday bash in the city the other night.

Foundation: Bourjois Healthy Mix in 52 Vanilla
Concealer: Rimmel Match Perfection in 010 Ivory with Benefit Powderflage over the top
Eyebrows: Rimmel Brow Pencil in 002 Hazel with MAC Blush in Frankly Scarlet over the top
Eyeshadow: MAC Paintpot in Bare Study & MAC Matte Eyeshadow in Blackberry
Eyeliner: Combination of MAC Gel Liner in Blacktrack & Maybelline Masterprecise Liquid Liner
Eyelashes: Maybelline Full n' Soft Mascara in Very Black & Paperself False Lashes in Deer and Butterfly
Blush: Bourjois Blusher in 34 Rose D'Or
Setting Powder: Maxfactor Transluscent Powder
Lips: Silk Oil Of Morocco Lip Gloss in Ruby 

Jacket: Op Shop
Earrings: Diva

I have a mad love affair with these lashes!

As you can see, I finally got around to adorning my eyes with the amazing Deer and Butterfly false eyelashes by Paperself. Some of you might remember me swooning over them in this post. With a pair of nail scissors, I turned them into accent lashes and tried to make the sweet little butterflies the main point of focus. They deserved the attention!

xx.