Blogmas 2017 Day 16 - Christmas Down Under

If there is one thing that I am jealous of at this time of year, it's the Northern Hemisphere and their wintery, chilly Christmas! I love the idea of a white Christmas, and cozying up at night with a hot chocolate with the Christmas lights on. It's something that we can't really do here in Australia because it's usually quite warm, being summer! We do have our own traditions though, with the weather being warmer it enables families to celebrate outdoors either at home, the beach or a camping adventure!
Today's post will be me sharing a few traditions with you, so if you aren't from the southern hemisphere, you will probably find these quite different from what you are used to.

Street Parties

If you live on a quiet street or even better a court, chances are you know most of you neighbours, and most likely there are a lot of kids in the street too. Christmas night usually would entail the closure of the street, so the families and kids can play and run amok!

Prawns

While the traditional Christmas dinner usually consists of roast Turkey and vegetables, it is an Aussie tradition to have prawns on Christmas day. I am not a seafood eater, so can't really say how good this is, but from all reports, it's amazing! I am definitely a more traditional person, preferring the turkey over the prawns, but my family regularly has prawns in the evening after a big lunch.

Christmas Lunch

Most families in Australia have a big Christmas lunch. As a child we would head to my grandparents house (which I still do) and have a big lunch with the whole family. Then after that all the kids would sit around the Christmas tree and open presents. By the afternoon, everyone is tired and full, and ready to go home.

Carols by Candlelight

This is a really fun tradition that you can find in most towns in Australia. The major cities will have a big one where there will be major performers and a whole lot of people, but smaller towns usually hold their own. This is where families usually pack a blanket, picnic and spend the night listening to Christmas carols by candlelight.

A plate for Santa

On Christmas Eve, we always make sure we leave out a plate of snacks for Santa. This will usually consist of a cookie, glass of milk and a carrots for the reindeer.

Christmas Lights

This is something I love about this time of year, it's when people decorate their houses with Christmas light. We have done it at our previous hose and it's so much fun! I love to look at all the amazing houses, some people do such an amazing job!

Backyard Cricket

I can remember many a Christmas day playing backyard cricket with the family. Often played late in the afternoon, and when the adults have had a little too much Christmas cheer and think they are international cricket stars! The wheelie bin would usually be the wickets, and it can make for an entertaining afternoon!

Blogmas 2017 Day 15 - Christmas Table Decor

With just over a week to go before Christmas, I am really getting into the festive spirit! I love to decorate, and my Christmas Table is definitely something I love to do!
So as I love Rose Gold, I have used this as inspiration for my table. Most of the things I have for my table were purchased at Kmart, so it was quite and inexpensive way to make my table look pretty.



So here are some pictures of my table and I will list the items below.

Rose Gold Table Runner - $6.00 (Kmart)
Rose Gold Place mat - $1.50 (Kmart)
Rose Gold Plate - $1.50 (Kmart)
Rose Gold Ombre tumblers - $12.00 for 6 pack (Kmart)
White/Silver sequin tree - $4.00 (Kmart)
Glass Led Christmas Tree - $12.00 (Spotlight)
Led Lights with snowflakes - $8.00 (The Reject Shop)
Red Candle - $4.00 (Coles)

My table is the Havana 7 piece dining set from Fantastic Furniture - $449

Hope you enjoyed this post, stay tuned for day 16 tomorrow xx



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Blogmas 2017 Day 14 - The Christmas Tag

I don't think I have ever done a Tag before on my blog, so I thought I would do the Christmas Tag that I have seen floating around. So here is my version of The Christmas Tag!

1. Is your Christmas tree real or fake?

I have a fake Christmas tree every year. I really like my Christmas tree, and this year I have gone for a rose gold theme. If you would like to have a closer look at my tree, click here.

2. What is your favourite Christmas movie?

Oooh this is a hard one. I can't simply just pick one, but there is one movie that I watch every year on Christmas night, and that is National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. I have watch this movie since I was a kid and it's still so funny!

3. Do you open your presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

We open our presents on Christmas morning. I remember when I was a kid my parents would give us a small present on Christmas Eve, which was very exciting. But I'm definitely more of a Christmas Morning present opener.

4. Favourite Festive food?

Wow, this is another tricky one to answer. I do have a sweet tooth, so I love all of the festive kind of deserts at this time of year. But the thing I most look forward to is the Christmas lunch with family, which usually consists of turkey and vegetables.

5. Favourite Christmas Scent.

I really can't narrow this down to one scent, because I like a few different ones. Apple and cinnamon scents a re a good one at this time of year. I usually have some wax melts in my warmer with this scent. Snow fairy from Lush is definitely a fave, and I would love a candle with this scent so I could have it through my whole house! I also like The Night before Christmas by Glasshouse fragrances, which is a gorgeous sugar plum scented candle.

6. Are you a pro present wrapper or do you fail miserably?

Honestly, i'm sort of half and half. The first half of the presents that I wrap are great, and I take my time to perfect the wrapping. Then I sort of get over it and just kind of rush through the wrapping!

7. What is your favourite Christmas song?

I don't have a stand out favourite, there are too many to choose from! I love Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas is you. I do have a post where I named my favourites, the you can view by clicking here.

8. Where do you usually spend your Holiday?

I like to spend it at home, but I do have to visit other family members so I get that out of the way on the morning then come home for the afternoon.

9. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

I seriously doubt it, the only ones I can remember are Prancer, Dasher, Donna, Vixen and of course Rudolph but that's about it!

10. What makes the holidays special for you?

Making sure my kids have the best experience as possible when it comes to Christmas. My youngest still believes in Santa so I am trying to keep that magic alive for as long as I can! Also, spending time with family makes it special too.

I hope you enjoyed this post, stay tuned for Day 15 tomorrow xx

Blogmas 2017 Day 10 - Christmas To Do list

With Christmas getting closer and closer by the day, I thought I would sit down and write a to-do list for the things that I need to get done before the magical day arrives. The idea is to be organised and ready to enjoy the festivities that are Christmas by Christmas Eve.

• Dig out all the Christmas decorations and decorate the house
• Give the house a big clean so it looks perfect for Christmas
• Send out Christmas cards (I must admit I can be slack in this area)
• Plan Christmas day menu 
• Build a gingerbread house
• Watch as many Christmas films as I can with the kids 
• Finish Christmas shopping before Christmas eve
• Wrap all Christmas presents before Christmas eve
• Find the perfect hiding place to store all of the gifts so the kids can't snoop ;-)
• Go look at Christmas lights on houses
• Make some Christmas crafts with the kids
• Clean kids rooms and declutter to make way for more things. Donate unused toys to charity
• Hang Stockings

Also, don't forget things like donating to those in need, doing a random act of kindness and things like that. Sometimes it those kind of things can make you and the other person feel amazing.

That is my Christmas list so far, I am sure I have forgotten to add something, but there is still plenty of time!

Hope you're all having an amazing December xx

Blogmas 2017 day 9 - My Christmas Wishlist

Ok, so I have started my Christmas shopping, and have decided what I am getting for other people. But someone asked me a few days ago if there was anything that I would like and I realised I actually hadn't really thought about it. So I had a bit of a browse on the internet and found a few things that I would like to see under the tree this Christmas.

Something I have had my eye on for some time is the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk eyeshadow palette. I love the look of the colours in this palette and have heard some great things about it.

I am obsessed with Lush products, in particular the Snow Fairy Range. The shower gel is my favourite and I also really like the candy mountain bubble bar. 

My Hairdryer recently died, so I picked up a cheap one from Kmart, but it's definitely only temporary one until I gat another one. I found this one by GHD that looks really good, but there are a few others around that I like too.

I haven't bought any perfume in the longest time, and one that I really love is Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent. This is a beautiful scent and one that I have been after for a while now, so Santa if you're reading this I've been very good this year ;-)

For some more practical sort of things, I would love some things for my house. I love to decorate it with little nick nacks and cute things I find in my travels.


So that's my wish list for Christmas this year. Mostly I would just love to have a wonderful C



hristmas day with my family and hope that everyone has a great day too!

Blogmas 2017 Day 8 - My favourite Christmas Scents

Being the festive month that it is I like to get right into it! I love having a candle or something warming in my warmer to give my home a Christmassy feel. I have a couple of favourites that I will share for you today.

Glasshouse Fragrances

I love their candles. Not only do they smell amazing, but they really last a long time. At the moment I have two of their Christmas candles and I can't decide which one I love more!
The first one is The Night Before Christmas, or Dancing Sugar Plums. It has blackcurrant, plum, lemon and lavender to give you a beautiful magical Christmassy scent. I 100% agree. Each time I smell this scent, I am completely reminded of Christmas!

The other candle I have is Under the Mistletoe, which is spiced apple & red berries. This one has a blend of cinnamon, apple and berries which is a more traditional scent. I love this one too, and I can't get enough of their scents!

Scentsy Wax Melts

I also love a good wax melt, and I particularly like Scentsy wax melts. There are so many to choose from, but at the moment I have been using two.

The first one is called Vanilla Bean Buttercream and it smells like you are cooking a delicious cake in the oven! It has a very sweet scent of vanilla and can sugar, so if you like sweet scents then you will love this one.

My other current favourite scent form Scentsy is Homestead Holiday. This scent combines blood orange, cinnamon and fir needle. Again it is quite a traditional Christmassy scent with the cinnamon, and a perfect scent for this time of year.

Let me know what you like to have burning that makes you feel all festive! Thanks for reading, stay tuned for more tomorrow xx

Beauty Wishlist #2

There is always so many great new products that are constantly being released, and sometimes it can be so hard to keep up with all the current trends! But I do like to stay in touch with what's new, so I have created a beauty wishlist for things that I would like to try in the future.

HUDA BEAUTY
i have heard so many great things about this brand. Huda herself is such an amazing talented person, so anything she creates is going to be fantastic. I am yet to try any of her products, but lately I have been hearing so much about the new faux Filter foundation, tha I can't wait to try it. From the reviews I have seen, they have been very positive, so it's at the top of my wish list!

The other product I want to try from Huda Beauty is the Desert Dusk eyeshadow palette. The colours look so pretty in the palette. I'm loving the pink tones in eyeshadows t the moment, I think they can be so flattering and work well with so many eye looks.

MAC Cosmetics
I actually have never tried anything by Mac, so when they released their holiday collection, it kind of piqued my interest. I love the look of the lipsticks, the packaging is so pretty and the colours are gorgeous. The one that I was particularly interested in is Shimmer and Spice.

 I also want to try the fix plus. I have heard so many great thins about this that I can't wait to give it a go. I'm always on the look out for a good setting spray so have added this one to my list.

Kind of a short wish list, but these items are quite high end, so will take me a while to purchase them! I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know wht is on your beauty wish list, I would love to know!

Products I am loving - Spring 2017

Hello, welcome back to my blog! In today's post. I want to talk about the products that I am currently loving, so keep on reading to find out what products they are!

With the weather starting to warm up here in Australia, I love to fake tan! My product of choice is always Bondi Sands and I have been using their products for a while now. I use Ultra Dark, and as scary as this sounds, it really isn't! I like to look a little extra bronzed, and it's great because I only need to apply one coat of this to achieve my desired result. I always get complemented on how great my tan looks, which is always lovely to hear! The bast way to apply is by using a tanning mitt, to get a nice even coverage!

Recently Zoella Beauty released a new range of products, and I was super excited to know that they are available in Australia! I tried the shower shake and the bath fizzers and love them both! The scent is just beautiful, and makes your whole bathroom smell amazing. The shower shake is really moisturising and leaves your skin so soft.

I am totally addicted to Kmart, and love the face that they stock one of my favourite brands, BYS Cosmetics. I recently purchased the peach palette to try, I have the Too Faced one as well so wanted to compare the two. I really like it. The colours are lovely and very bendable and pigmented. For only 12 dollars, it's definitely something worth picking up if you love the warmer toned eyeshadows.

When it comes to my eyebrows, I love a really simple routine. My brows are one thing I have to do everyday, and the simpler and quicker that is, the happier I am! I purchased the Maybelline Brow Tattoo recently and it has become my favourite brow product to use. It's such a simple product to use and really effective.

So there's the product that I'm loving at the moment. I hope you enjoyed reading, and stay tuned for more posts coming soon xx

My Quick and Easy Self Tanning Routine

Hi all, welcome back to my blog I hope you are all well!

In today's post I will be sharing with you my very simple self tanning routine. With the weather starting to warm up here in Australia, which is exciting and with that means lots of bronzed up bodies!

So here is my easy to follow self tanning routine along with a brief description of the products I use!

My products of choice when it comes to self tanning is always Bondi Sands. I have been using their products for some time now and highly recommend the brand. The products are easy to apply and look very even and natural.

So to begin with, I use the self tan eraser to remove any remaining tan that is on my skin. This is an awesome product to get rid of those spots of tan that won't come off with regular exfoliating. All you need to do is apply this to the areas that you tan removed from, leave on for about five minutes and then rinse off! So easy and such a great product to have in your regular tanning routine.

The next step is to exfoliate the skin, with some exfoliating gloves and your favourite body wash or soap. I am currently using Zoella's Jelly and Gelato Shower shake. It smells amazing while really softening your skin. I do this step to make my skin smooth and ready for application of the tannng products.

After I have patted myself dry, I stand in front of my mirror to apply my tan. The one I use is the Bondi Sands Ultra Dark, and love it! I do this because it's easy to see the parts of my skin that I miss and to ensure that I have a nice, even application. To apply the tan, I always use a tanning mitt. I use the Bondi Sands one, and this really helps to give you an even application while preventing you from getting "Tan Hands".

I will usually wait about 10-15 minutes before getting dressed, to allow the tan to dry. My usual time for applying tan is at night, and I will then rinse of the guide colour in the morning when I get up. This gives the tan a good amount of time to fully develop.

As I said earlier in my post,

Sukin Pore Refining Facial Scrub Review

In todays post I just want to talk about one of my favourite skincare brands, Sukin. I have been using their products for a while now and absolutely love them. I love this brand because they are made from natural products as well as being Vegan and very affordable.
Sukin have products that suit most skin types, and my favourite product would have to be the Oil Balancing Pore refining facial scrub.

The ingredients in this product include jojoba beads, bamboo charcoal and moringa extract, which work to exfoliate the skin clearing pores of impurities.
Other vitamins include rooibus tea, willowherb and coconut oil which purify and balance the complexion.

With antioxidants like Bilberry extract, white tea, aloe vera, chamomile and cucumber, they all work to calm and soothe your skin. It really is so gentle on your skin.

I use this because it's for oily to combination skin, and after use it doesn't leave your face feeling dry or tight. It also reduces your pores, and leaves your skin with a healthy balanced glow.

The product does have a little bit of texture, which is expected from a scrub but it's very gentle. It's ok to use everyday of you need to, but 2-3 times a week works really well.

This is one product I keep reaching for and repurchasing. Definitely a favourite of mine!

Thank you for reading, stay tuned for regular po
sts xx

BYS Peach Palette vs Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette

Hello lovelies, I hope you're doing well! I have been a bit MIA over the last month or so, it's just been a bit hectic lately but I am back this week with my regular 3 posts a week.

For today's post, I thought I would do a comparison on two palettes that I have. One is the Too Faced Sweet Peach palette, which is a high end product and the other is the BYS Cosmetics Peach Palette.

Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette

I will start off with the Too Faced Palette. This is one of my current favourite palettes, with the texture of the shadows so smooth and buttery.

The swatches Top row, Middle row and bottom row.
It's definitely worth the money if you want a quality, easy to blend eyeshadow palette.

The packaging is pretty, I love the peachy, pink colour and it's also quite sturdy. Great if your clumsy like me and prone to dropping things. The eyeshadow is well protected.

BYS Cosmetics Peach Palette

The BYS Cosmetics Peach Palette is great for the price. I picked mine up in Kmart for 12 dollars! I was very excited when I saw it, so grabbed it straight away!

The colours are similar to the Too Faced Palette, but with more pinky tones. The colour pigmentation is great, each colour swatches well and are very smooth to apply.
I played around with the palette a few times, and found the colours aren't as easy to blend as the Too Faced palette, but still quite easy to work with.
I really love the colours in this palette, there are warm toned which is great going into spring here in Australia.
In this palette you get 12 colours, where the Too Faced one is 18.

The packaging is similar to the Sweet Peach Palette, with the pink and gold. Very pretty and looks great.

Overall I love both palettes. If you are after a cheaper alternative to the Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette, then definitely pick this one up. I use both regularly and love each one.
I'm actually really liking BYS Cosmetics at the moment, their products are amazing!

I hope you enjoyed this post, stay tuned for more regular posts xx

How I Clean My Makeup Brushes

Something that I am not fond of, but love the end result is cleaning my makeup brushes! I know some of you would agree that it is a very time consuming and partly annoying part of being makeup and beauty obsessed, but it is something that needs to be done!

I like to make sure my brushes are cleaned on a regular basis, and have tried many different techniques and products to make this as easy and smooth as possible. Some have worked and some haven't and it can get really annoying not having the right brush cleaning process.

Recently I found a great product from Morphe that is great for cleaning brushes. It is their brush cleaning shampoo and I absolutely love it! There are three different scents, and I have Cotton Blossom. The scent is very subtle, and you can't really smell it on your brushes after use. There is just enough scent there to leave your brushes and hands smelling pretty!

How it works

Basically you grab your brush and swirl it around in the container.

Make sure the product is wet before you use it, this will help it to soap up and clean your brushes.

Once you have enough product on your brush, massage with your fingers to make sure all the makeup is removed from the brush. After that is complete I then rinse out my brush and pop them on a towel to dry.
The worst part is waiting for them to dry!

After Cleaning

After you have finished with the brush shampoo, make sure to give it a rinse out so that there is no makeup left in the product.

I hope you found this post helpful. Just wanted to add that I buy my Morphe products from a great Australian owned site called www.discountbeautyboutique.com.au There is a lot of great products and super fast shipping!

Thank you for reading, stay tuned for more posts soon xx

My Current Favourite Lip Products

For today's post, I want to talk about what I am loving in the way of lip products. My main type of lip product is a nice creme lipstick or a lipgloss but there are few matte ones that I am loving at the moment.

The first few products that I am loving at the moment are my metallic ones. I have three, two from BYS Cosmetics and one form Gerard cosmetics.

The one from GC is great. It's a lovely gold colour and lasts for ages on the lips. It has a matte finish but still looks metallic. It really is a lovely product and didn't find it drying at all.

The next two products are from BYS Cosmetics and are also metallic finish ones. I have two colours and both are equally as pretty. As for the quality, I find they are just as good as the more expensive ones from GC. The pigmentation is fantastic and staying power is just as good. They are a fraction of the price of the GC so if you want to try something metallic, I highly recommend trying these ones.

I am a huge fan of the Brand Essence. I love their range of products as well as them being so cheap. My favourites are the lip colours and I do have a few. The ones in particular that I want to talk about are the long matte lasting ones. I have two colours, a pink and a nude. These are so great to carry with you in your hand bag so you can touch up during the day. They really aren't drying at all and have really good longevity. Definitely worth trying if you haven't already!

Hope you enjoyed this post, stay tuned for more content xx