My Current Shower Routine

Hi guys! It's been a while since I last did a product review as it's mostly been nail art since I got my mojo back, so I thought I would do a new shower routine as I am using new products I have not talked about before.

My first product isn't actually for in the shower but more of a prep. I am a person who showers in the evening, as I would rather go to bed feeling clean and have an extra few minutes in bed in the morning!

My boyfriend and I have the "should you shower in the morning or afternoon" debate quite a lot, as he loves to wake up and have a shower to wake him up. 

I have actually read somewhere that if you have drier skin like myself, then showering in the evening is better for you, and if you have more oily skin then showering in the morning is better for you as you tend to sweat more at night!

That seems to suit myself and Tom but who knows if its true or not!

Anyway! As I tend to shower in the evening I usually have makeup on so use my first product to remove all traces of make up before I cleanse.

Since some one stole my Ren Rose Balm (RIP) I don't have a face wash that removes makeup so I am currently using this 'Micellar Cleansing Water' by ' Sukin' which is an Australian natural skin care brand.

I had never heard of this brand before I came to Australia but it quite a large brand that can be found in Priceline stores which are the equivilent to Boots or Superdrug. They are a fairly new family owned brand which use completely natural ingredients! Yey! It has a large range from body and hair care, and they are really inexpensive too!

I love this cleansing water as it really cools my skin after the hot weather, and also removes all traces of my eye makeup without irritating my eyes.

This leads onto my next product which is also from Sukin, and is the first product I bought from the range.

I didn't actually realise until I looked more into the range that I bought the Derma Sukin wash which is for more problem skin, so this is probably not as simple as I need it to be, but nevertheless this hydrating face wash makes my skin feel really fresh, without that horrible dry feeling afterwards.

The consistency is like a very thin gel which I'm not usually a fan of, but in this case I don't mind it so much.

So next is onto hair care, and I have been using some more Australian natural products that are working wonders for me.

Organic Care is an amazing brand, dedicated to helping the environment as well as charities across the globe. They have lots of different cleaning products for the household as well as personal use to ensure we are using the best organic resources available.

They have lots of other hair ranges to tailor to different hair types, but I find this normal balancing shampoo and conditioner works perfectly for me.

The smell is so fresh and clean, and my hair has been the healthiest it has been ever! Again, this brand is so affordable! With the shampoo and conditioners each being about $3 in super markets!

The next product is one you may have seen on my Instagram a few weeks back. I have tried 'Original Source' shower gels before but never in this scent. The zesty lime and awakening mint are still up there as some good gels, but when I saw YouTuber and beauty enthusiast Shaaanxo feature this in a video I knew I wanted to try it.

I love the packaging and how it tells you a little fact about the ingredients that go into the shower gel and therefore coming straight from the 'Original Source' get it... see what they did there...kudos marketing team... good job.

The smell is incredible!! Like strawberry milkshake and I am obsessed with it! I honestly don't think I will use another shower gel ever again. AND Once again original source is a natural brand! and it is so cheap too! 

The next product is a fairly new idea on the showering market, as it is a body conditioner. As you would imagine, the idea is to condition you skin after washing like you would a normal hair conditioner.

I know Zoella made a video on a Lush one the other day, and expressed her opinion that anyone who says they enjoy moisturising their body is lying. And I completely agree! You just want to get on with your day and not have to wait 5 minutes to put on your clothes.

Cue the idea of an in shower body moisturiser. 

This Nivea one I have been using is made with Shea butter and has a really comforting smell. I use this after my shower gel (which is sometimes masks the milkshake smell :( ) but it does make my skin feel soft afterwards and I feel as if I've done a good deed for my body that day.

As I am living under the sun at the moment though, I do also use this Vaseline Aloe Vera moisturiser if I have been out in the sun as it is amazing at cooling any sun burn!

I love the fresh smell and even after some severe sun burns this has been my go to product as it is a miracle worker!

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So there you have my new regime!

 As you can see my love for natural products has not gone anywhere, and I am pleased to say that my love hasn't been an expensive venture as I though it would have been to uphold. I didn't even mean to venture out and continue my love of natural products out here in Aus but it has just somehow managed to happen, and it's proven to me that it is not an expensive luxury after all!

Let me know if you have tried any of these or heard of them at all! I also want to hear about any other Australian products you think I should try so let me know!

Graveyard Nails

Once again this year I haven't been able to get into the Halloween spirit quite as much as I wanted. As I am travelling my stocks of colours and equipment are pretty poor, so I have had to make do with what I have!

I did however make sure I had the time to do at least one nail art look for the holiday, as to my usual 3 or 4 options.

This year I went for slightly more sophisticated, (if Halloween can be sophisticated?!) and opted for an ombre silhouette graveyard scene. 

I started with a white base and then used a sponge to blend the blue and light purple colours to create a haunting sunset. I then went ahead with a black nail art pen to create jaunty tombstones and a tree.

I do actually think it's quite a pretty manicure, if you exclude the tombstones of course, but  now I have some sponges to do ombre nails I'm sure you can expect to see a lot more of those kinds of manicures.

If you want to take a look at some of my more creative and wacky nail art ideas, click here to see my Halloween posts I've done in the past.

Previous Halloween Posts

Happy Halloween Y'all

MDMBBFM Nails

I have no idea what to call these nails so I decided to take a leaf out of Rihanna's book and call them MDMBBFM, or Modern Day Monochrome Bad Bish French Manicure if you will.

 I do actually think they are the kind of nails Rihanna would wear, as they are a kind of rebellion on a manicure classic.

I have been really into the geometric, and monochrome style for nails at the moment, so expect to see some similar designs in the future. I am also loving the use of negative space, and think it looks really chic on a manicure, and it means your saving on buying a natural nail polish!

This was such a simple manicure but it has a really cool effect. I just painted the tips of my nails white, outlined the negative space in black and applied a top coat. As simple as that. I think this would look really cool on talon almond shaoe nails like Rihanna wears, to make the manicure look really sleek

Unfortunately my chubby little hands do the look no favours, but with long slender fingers and an abundance of midi rings and chunky jewelry, maybe even some henna, I think this would look amazing.

Koala Nails

I told you it wouldn't be long till I offended again, and with the embedded feeling that Mondays are for hashtagging manicures I simply couldn't spend my day off doing nothing, and so, these little Koala nails were born!

I was inspired to do these because of a small day trip I went on recently to a place called Lone Pine, which is a Koala sanctuary just outside of Brisbane. The place is full of kangeroos jumping around you, and there are other animals around too so it is like a small zoo.

However, Lone Pine holds the promise of being able to cuddle up and have your picture taken with a Koala which was an opportunity not to be missed!

For these nails, I used a neon yellow base which is particularly horrible on its own. It is by a brand simply called paint and is really cheap in the drug stores, only about $3 if that!

Next I used my grey L'Oreal polish for the little faces, and used my new nail art pens for detailing and the background palms.

My particular favourite nail is my thumb, I think his face came out the cutest!

Apologies for the crap quality of pictures, I will have to think of a way around this!

See you soon!

Flamingo Nails: I Am Back!

Before I get started on this post, I would like to apologise to all my followers who are just here for the nail art, as it has been non existent. If I'm honest, since travelling I hadn't really missed doing it until the other day, something snapped, and I had a huge urge to do some. I ran out and bought a pack of nail art pens and haven't regretted it once!

Before I go into the actual nails, I'd like to talk about the nail pens I bought, as they were just $15 cheapys from Big W. These are actually really fantastic little pens by a brand called "Studio You", and come double ended meaning the pen is longer so you have more grip which makes things easier. You can also separate them so if you prefer shorter pens that's still an option.
 Not only this, but there was a little booklet inside for nail art ideas, as well as tiny pins to stop the nail nib getting blocked! You need bloody brilliant eye sight to get them in the tiny nibs but it is well worth the effort so your pens don't dry up and block. For such cheap pens they are really good quality and the little added well thought out features make them even better!

So the nails! As I am currently in Australia, I was feeling some inspiration from Aussie company I Scream Nails, and decided to do some flamingo nails which is one of their popular designs. As I said in my last post, I am limited on nail polish colours, so I used my Illamasqua polish in 'Muse' as my base which was maybe a little too dark on retrospect.

However, I used my trusty pink O.P.I polish, and used my new nail pens to create these.

After 6 months I am a little rusty as you can probably tell from some wobbly lines, but I can honestly say I haven't felt better for doing them. As cringe as it sounds, nail art is a part of me now, and seeing these little flamingos on my nails make me feel like I am looking at my own hands again after such a long time!

I also find nail art really therapeutic and an excuse for some me time which is hard to find when travelling around and being constantly around people.

I guess what I'm saying is expect to see a lot more nail art from me from now on! It may not be as frequent as I used to be, but consider this 6 month break, officially over!

Ruffian nails

As you may have seen, I haven't been able to do any nail art for so long :( as I've been travelling around, nail varnishes haven't been top priority when it comes to packing, so unfortunately nail art hadn't been an option. As I've settled down in Australia now I have been able to purchase a few nail varnishes, which has opened some windows for Nail art opportunity!

I had this pink O.P.I throughout my whole trip, as I felt the "meet me on the Cocacobana" was appropriate for the Rio leg of my journey. I also purchased this L'Oreal polish the other day, called "Parisian Rooftops" which ties in nicely with the location names!

Having two colours hasn't exactly blown my mind for nailart Inspiration, however it has opened a few more doors. I did this two toned ruffian design a few weeks ago, which leaves a peek a boo colour around the edge of the nail. The design can add the illusion of length to the nail, and it's fun to experiment with different colour options.

Hopefully this will be the end to my nail art drought soon!

Korres Body Care

A while ago I did a post on the Christmas Korres kits I got, and reviwed the rose range products. Today I am going to tell you about the body care products.

Fisrtly, we have the tinted lip balm. This is a really nice colour and has quite a good pigment considering it is only a balm. I love red on my lips so I was fortunate that this was the colour in the set.

I love the Korres packaging as every aspect has been thought about, even continuing the writing on the tube of the balm.

Next we have the hand cream. This contains Almond Oil and Shea butter, two of my favourite ingredients. This hand cream is a match hade in heaven with the Jessica Phenomenon nail Oil as that is an almond oil. It is lovely and thick but also absorbs into the hands quickly so you don't have to worry aout stickiness. It smells lovely and it one of the best hand creams I have used.

Finally we have the Guava body butter. Korres offer two body lotions, the body milk and the body butter. The body milks are slightly thinner so easier to spread, and the body butters are thicker so provide better hydration. I am ABSOLUETLY obsessed with this smell! Guava is just the tastiest smell ever. Along with Bergamot Pear, Guava is one of my favourites, although when it comes to Korres, every single smell is delightful and still remains my favourite body care range.

The set also contained one of the miniature rose face moisturiser which have been heavenly for my travels as they're mini sized and lovely, and contain SPF 6 which is good as an everyday moisturiser for the warmer weather I've been experiencing.

If you haven't tried Korres products I 100% recommend you do as they are cheaply process, all natural and just bloody lovely!!

Illamasqua nail colour in Muse

Hey errrrybudy! Just a quick post today! The other day I popped into my

Local department store which is the Myer Centre in Brisbane central, and saw they had an illamasqua counter which got me very excited as I love their cool products and quirky arty marketing. I swiftly made my way over to the nail varnish section (as I do) and fell instantly in love with a colour called Muse, a very flat teal colour that would look great on every skin tone. As illamasqua varnishes are quite pricey (about $26) I put it back down and told myself I didn't need it.

The other day I finished my shift at work and came home to see my lovely boyfriend had bought it for me, despite saying we need to be saving up our pennies, so he won instant boyfriend points and now I'm super happy :)

It's so pretty and goes with everything, however the chip resistance isn't fantastic, so it's a no housework or anything kind of polish.

Have a great day :)

Why I think Taylor Swift is a Terrible Role Model

This is possibly the weirdest thing I'm ever going to write.

 1.because I have never written anything like this before.

 2. because I would never usually get as involved into celebritity gossip as this.

3. I don't know whether my beauty blog is the place to say it, 

and 4 . I don't know why I felt so strongly about this that I had to write it?!

Anyway, I was listening to Taylor Swifts new album 1989 the other day, and actually realised that she sends out some terrible messages in her songs.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Taylor swift and am guilty of being a big fan of her music, but her latest popularity in the spot light has raised some questions as to if she really is the lovely funny dork she is portrayed as in the media.

Firstly, I have a massive problem with the video "bad blood" and this is where my issue started. Let's get this straight, everyone knows that the video and song is aimed at fellow pop princess and now ex friend Katy Perry, which upsets me as I bloody love Katy Perry too.

 I loved the song "bad blood"and thought it was about a man (probably Harry Styles) when I initially heard it. I would have had it as my song of the week, until I saw the video and realised who it was aimed at. At first I loved the pure stardom of it, and was fan girling my way through the whole thing. Then I watched it again and realised actually how horrible it is.

Taylor swift gets a gang of possibly the most influential women in the public eye, and essentially threatens to start an army against the enemy assumed to be Katy Perry played by Selena Gomez. Taylor Swift is basically saying to Perry in this video "all of these women hate you and are on my side" and if I was Katy Perry, id be bloody gutted that some of the biggest names in the world didn't like me.

I also think this sends a terrible message to some of Swifts younger audiences. She's basically saying it is ok to build a huge girl army and single someone out, but doing it so indirectly that you still keep your innocent image. I'm sure Katy Perry couldn't give a toss, but I honestly think this could be seen as some kind of bullying?! If we took it down to playground levels, and a girl was getting girls on her side to hate one girl, this would definitely be considered a problem.

My next problem with the Perry/Swift debacle is the reason for the said bad blood. It is assumed to have been about backing dancers, however it is common knowledge that they both dated Hollywood man whore john Meyer. This is the classic case of the man getting away with it, as Swift has not made a song aimed at him, despite making a song about any other celebrity she has had a fued with.

My next problem is with a different song on the album called "how you get the girl" an unreleased track. Here are the lyrics that don't sit right with me:

"Remind her how it used to be,

With pictures in frames, of kisses on cheeks,

Tell her how you must've lost your mind

When you left her all alone

And never told her why

And that's how it works

That's how you lost the girl

And now you say

I want you for worse or for better

I would wait for ever and ever

Broke your heart, I'll put it back together

I would wait for ever and ever

And that's how it works, that's how you get the girl"

Swift paints the picture of a relationship where the boy left a poor girl heartbroken and all her cute selfies of them over her room make her want to cry every time she sees them. She then goes on to say that if he shows up and says sorry, he'll get her back, easy "that's how it works, that's how you get the girl"

As nice as this is, I think forgiving someone who I quote "breaks your heart" should not be forgiven so easily, especially when you are ready to publically humiliate a women for "stealing your back up dancers".

 Swift is renowned for having the most awesome A list celebrity friendship group, so you'd think she would promote a "girl power" kind of attitude, and forgive and forget the little things, especially when we are in an age where feminism is on the rise, and girls should stick together

She has recently been involved in a few Twitter fueds too, and if you look back at the tweets, she is usually the one to start trouble. I'm not saying anyone should sit back and take crap from someone, but her need to get so defensive so quickly has often landed her in hot water.

The irony of Swifts argument against Nicki Minaj, is that she thought Nicki was saying something mean about her video which she is up for a VMA award for, and accused Minaj of "pitting women against each other" when she's defending a video WHERE SHE IS PITTING A WOMAN!!!

Thankfully Katy Perry didn't sit back, and retaliated with this

As much as I love the song and video, I hate what the video represents and think it would be a real shame for it to win an award. I'm also shocked that no one else has seen the seriousness behind the video, and are letting it be awarded for its coolness and cosmetic appearance when its obvious bitchiness and sending out the wrong message to her huge young and impressionable fan base.

The VMAs are on the 30th August, and with all Involved are intending plus Miley Cyrus hosting, it is bound to be an interesting show!

Like I said, I don't really know why I wrote this. I've had a lot of spare time and have probably spent too much time on social media and hopefully I won't get hounded by a load of Swifts fans now, but I felt the need to write it down somewhere. Let me know your thoughts!

Hair Braids

Hi everyone! I hope you have been enjoying hair week as much as I have!

Today I'm going to be talking about hair braids, as it is something I have been following a lot in Instagram recently! 

Now my hair is much longer, I want to experiment with different hairstyles more, so expect to see a lot more in the future. I always thought braids were kind of childish, but some of the braid gurus I follow have proved that if done well, braids can be a fashion accessory, and look really sophisticated and pretty.

That said, I need a bit more practice with my braids to make them look as good as the people I follow, and maybe a hair cut to rid those fly always! You'll have to bear with me for picture quality because I only have my phone, and I had to take them all myself so back of head shots are a pain! But here we go!

French Plaits

This is a style I used to don a lot as a child, so wearing these got me a little self conscious about looking 4. However working in a restaurant means my hair has to be away, and my annoying baby hairs go mad in the heat and stress, so this style works perfectly to tuck them away.

I did two variations of this, one braid going into a normal plait and the other into a fishtail.

Middle parting Braid

If you follow my Instagram you'll see that I did this a while ago when Perrie Edwards (soon to be Malik) did a braid down the middle of her hair.

Her braid is very small and intricate, and quite difficult to recreate, so I've done mine much chunkier, and I think it looks better with my thick hair

Fish tail pony

Any pony with a braid always reminds me of Blake Lively as she is a lover of a stylish pony on the red carpet

Obviously her hair is styled with much longer hair, but I love the messiness of the braid but also how cool it looks. It's so easy to do and can be worn night or day.

Tumbledown Braid

I completely made up the name for this one but saw it somewhere on Instagram and can't for the life of me find the picture now! This braid is actually really easy to do, but I think it looks quite sophisticated. You start by French braiding the front of your hair and pulling more hair round from the back to create the look. It's a braid to be worn on the side so a few clips at the back to make sure nothing falls out may be necessary.

Milkmaid braids

Milkmaid braids often seen on the likes of Zoella, are a really simple way to make a pretty up do.

I'm using all my real hair in this post, so unfortunately my hair isn't long enough to wrap around my head, so I've done a smaller variation of it.

To achieve this look, I simply put my hair in a half pony, split the remaining hair into two equal sections and then wrapped around to the top of my head and pinned down.

If I'd picture myself head on you'd see the tufted ends sticking up in the middle of my hair, because it still isn't long enough to tuck under the opposite braid, but when it is long enough, I think this is a style I will wear a lot as it is a kind of natural hair band!

Wrap around fishtail

This is one that I still need to work on, as braiding around your head is very fiddly as you have to swap your hands around. I got inspiration to do this from the super mum I montaged up above, instagrammer and blogger Amber Fillerup.

She is a dream when it comes to braiding, and once she's braided, she always pulls it out to mess it up and look like she just threw it together.

I can't do the Dutch style or French style fishtail so I did a normal French plait and wrapped it around into a fish tail

This is a really pretty braid and is quite Elsa (from Frozen of course) so would be a great one for kids!

I am definitely going to be doing more braids, and practicing different styles of braids, so keep and eye out on my Instagram in the future!

Hope you enjoyed!