Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!  I hope you are all having or about to have a fantastic day spent with family  and friends.  Blogging on holidays has been rather difficult but I thought I would just have a bit of quiet time between Christmas Lunch and our big family dinner to show you two things I got.

I had no idea what my husband was going to give me and when I opened the gift and saw this...

And this...

I was so excited!!  I have only ever had a second hand Diva Straightener which has served me well but it is now a bit passed it.  I never thought I would ever own a GHD straightener and I love the way it works.  So here is a few more pictures of my new baby! ...

I already knew what one of the gifts my parents was giving me was as I had been there when they had bought it.  It is a black and gold Review dress.

The colour and design weren't my first choice but it's a dress that really flatters and is quality.  I love it!

Thank you to every one for all the lovely gifts and love I received this Christmas.  I was so blessed and lucky!  I hope you are having a wonderful day and that you got everything you wanted.

Let me know what your favourite presents were and what made you Christmas special!  I loved catching up with my family and friends again and look forward to seeing more tonight and this week.

I'm hoping to go shopping either tomorrow or Friday so I can't wait!  Have a great week and take care in the busy season!

As always,

Last Day of Work!!

It's the last day of work for the year and I am pumped!  I love the Christmas Break and getting 2 weeks off work makes it even better!  It's 5 days until Christmas Day and 4 until I leave for Melbourne.  Can't wait!

Today should be really busy tying up all my loose ends at work and then home to relax!  We're going to our friends later on tonight and we're going to stay over which should be lovely.  They have a pool so we are going swimming as it's stinking hot today!

I love how free and happy I feel at the moment :)  Haven't felt like this for a long while!

Just an update on blogging while I'm on holidays:

I can't promise that I'll blog every day but I will try as much as I can.  I am going to be spending time with family and relaxing so may not have a lot of time but I will still make an effort.  I can't wait to show you what I get for Christmas and to show you what I pick up in Boxing Day Sales!

I'll miss being able to regularly blog (not that I've been able to much lately - Sorry!!)  I really enjoy it.  I know I say this a lot but I have never been happier than I am at the moment.  Sharing my thoughts is such a nice way to express myself.  I've never really had hobbies or been that creative and now I have an outlet that is a hobby and means I can be creative in my own way.  I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts as much as I do writing them.

Let me know what you're doing over the Christmas Holidays :)  I'd love to know!

Review: Chi Chi Cosmetics Lipsticks

In my Chi Chi Cosmetics prize pack I was given 2 Viva La Diva Lipsticks and 2 Creamy Matte Liquid Lipsticks. 

I received a Viva La Diva Lipstick in Stylista which is a baby doll pink:

And a Viva La Diva Lipstick in Countess which is a deep raspberry red :

Both lipsticks are matte and extremely long lasting.  I didn't remove one properly last night and it was still showing strong this morning!  The only negative I have for these lipsticks is that they are a bit drying on the lips but that can be fixed with a balm or a gloss and also the smell was a tad too chemical.  They retail at $18.95 each which is quite expensive however they are often on special.  There are 37 colours in their line at the moment.

I also received a Creamy Matte Liquid Lipstick in Crazy in Love which is a dusky rose/pink:

And a Creamy Matte Liquid Lipstick in Socialite which is a baby pink:

 I really liked these liquid lipsticks.  They offered the matte long lasting finish but also have the liquid softening feel which meant they didn't dry my lips out.  I loved Crazy in Love as it was a more natural colour.  Socialite is a very similar colour to Stylista though it's a tad more pink.  I loved the smell of these liquid lipsticks - it was very sweet.  These retail at $16.95 which is a great price for a matte liquid lipstick, many often being more pricey than that.  There are 16 colours in their line at the moment.

Stylista, Countess, Crazy in Love & Socialite (from Left to Right)

The colouring in these swatches isn't perfect; Stylista is more like Crazy in Love than it shows and Socialite is more pink.

Overall I think I would repurchase the Creamy Matte Liquid Lipsticks before the Viva La Diva Lipsticks as they are long lasting and matte like a lipstick but have the creamy quality of a gloss.

Chi Chi Cosmetics Prize

On Monday I got a card in my letterbox that said my prize from Chi Chi Cosmetics had been delivered but because no one was home it had been taken to the local Post Office.  So last night I made it to the post office at 5:59pm and got my package!  I was so excited.  The package came in the cutest pink box as seen above - I love personal touches like this!

 

I'm not going to put swatches in this post, I will do separate reviews on each product so that this post isn't mammoth!  But already I love most of the products which makes me very happy.  I wasn't sure about Chi Chi Cosmetics when I first saw them in store but I am now converted.  Originally I thought the product looked a bit cheap and because the prices are good I thought it was.  But I was wrong and Chi Chi showed me that I shouldn't judge a book by its' cover!

I won:  a BB Cream, 6 baked eye shadows, 2 lipsticks, 2 creamy liquid lipsticks & a Mascara!

 

I had so much fun playing around with my new makeup last night so thank you Chi Chi Cosmetics for choosing me to win your prize!  You're awesome!

I can't wait to do reviews on all these products for you because as I said I love lots of them!  There should be a separate review post up possibly today or tomorrow.  Sorry for the lack of posts recently I have been so busy at work and home due to the fact that there is only TWO DAYS MORE OF WORK!!  Can't wait for Christmas Break and to go see my family :)

Have you tried Chi Chi Cosmetics?  If so what are your thoughts?

To Buy Or Not To Buy - Curl Secret

When I first saw the Curl Secret, and what it claimed to do, I was sold.  I am terribly uncoordinated and anything that could help me to get curls easily makes me want to try it.  I saw reviews about it and youtubers using it and was convinced that it did in fact work like it said.

But then the horror reviews started and I started thinking that maybe it wasn't such a miracle machine.  Tati in her "Hot or Not" Video hated it and she generally gives the hard truths.  All of a sudden this wonder tool has turned sour on the online community and I don't know what to think.

The price doesn't worry me.  I mean it is very expensive but if it works then I think it's worth it.  Plus it's already come down about $50 from it's initial price.  It's really the thought that it may not be that magic curler that it claims to be.

My birthday is coming up and I was thinking of getting this but now I am not so sure...  Has anyone tried the Curl Secret (or similar tool) and what did you think?  Or do you have another curler that works better?

Let me know!  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Friday Fun 13/12/2013

It's Friday, Friday, It's gonna get down on Friday.... sorry I know that no one (not even Ms. Black herself) wants to hear that song ever again.  But for some reason on the Friday the 13th of December (oooh freaky!!) I feel like singing it.  Because it's FRIDAY and it's sunny and beautiful weather and I don't have to go out tonight!!  Haha wow my life it so exciting.

When I was young I thought that when I had moved out I would be entertaining every night and the ones that I wasn't I would be out and about.  No way.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  Now I love the nights when I have nothing planned.  I even love the fact I'll have time to clean my house tonight.  Oh dear... maybe I do need to get out more! Haha :)

Today's Friday Fun post is a bit of rambling (see above - sorry!) and also a bit of inspiration:

I love this quote it's just so fitting and true.  Everyone thinks that they're not as good as the next person.  But sadly this creates a never ending line of not feeling good enough and it's just not true.  We were all created individuals each different but the same.  Stop trying to be someone you're not.  Be yourself.  Aww how corny April :)  But it's true.  I'm over society telling how big or small to be, tall or thin, what colour hair or skin, and what we should think.  No!  That's NOT how things should be.  Rant over :)  I think I made my point.  You are lovely the way you are and that's good enough :)

I hope you all have a lovely weekend whatever you may be doing and wherever you may be.

I will be back next week with a few beauty reviews!  Can't wait!!

Good&Bad of the week so far 11/12/13

Once again it's Wednesday and time for my weekly Good&Bad of the week so far post!  :)  Woohoo I love these.  I just really enjoy thinking about what has happened so far this week.

"The BAD"

 My hair is gross today.  It is greasy and not sitting right.  I'm not happy with the way my hair is at the moment already but add greasyness to it and my disgust triples!  I need a hair cut badly but don't want to because it's too short as it is.

Late 2012 I cut my lovely long hair to a short bob inspired by Jenny McCarthy in this picture:

But as lovely as it looked when it was cut and styled by the hairdresser I regretted it straight away.  Deep down I knew I would never have the time or want to make the effort to keep it looking like that everyday.  So I have grown it about 20cms since then (yup I measured my hair, cos I'm cool like that) but that is not enough.  I miss having long hair; I just think it is so feminine and pretty.

So that's the bad from my week so far... my hair - FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS! :(

"The GOOD"
 
 The weather has been quite chilly this week but the sun has shown its' face in the afternoons.  This is actually probably one of my favourite types of day.  It's nice and cold and drizzly in the morning but you get to enjoy the sunshine too.  I changed my sheets earlier in the week so our new cozy sheets have been amazing to sleep in - they are so soft! Gotta love a cozy bed on a cold morning.

I have been slowly cleaning parts of my house this week, not as quick as I would like, but it has been happening nonetheless.  It's so nice coming home and not stressing out that someone might drop by ;)

I have so many great product reviews to put up on here which I will hopefully get up before Christmas holidays.  I have received quite a few great samples and love testing them out and then being able to tell the internet about them!  These include beauty products & ingredients so it will be quite a mix for you!

The main good thing about this week is that is only 2 weeks until Christmas Day and only 7 days and 1.5 hours left of work for the year!  WOOHOO!  I love the end of the year because I get a solid two weeks off which is so nice after not really having a proper holiday all year.  My husband and I are going to Melbourne from the 24 - 30 of December to see my family and then I'll have a week at home.  I can't wait.  I love this time of year as we see all the family and everyone is happy.

(Two puppy pictures in one post I can hear you asking?  ... I LOVE animals!)

I have been writing this blog for just over a month now and have been loving it.  It's so nice to have somewhere to write down my thoughts on my life and things I try.  Thank you to everyone that's reading it and to all the blogs out there that inspired me to finally bite the bullet and sign up.  You're all awesome!


Hope the rest of your weeks go fantastic!!  Keep safe :)

By the way if you know of any good dry shampoos then please let me know!  I've never used one before, so don't have any idea, but have seen them work miracles on other people!  I have brown hair so the ones that don't make your hair go white would be lovely <3  Ta!

Review: Schick Hydro Silk

When I got sent this as a sample I was ecstatic.  I have never really had a favourite shaver and just sort of bought whatever was on sale.  Before getting this sample I had actually already tried this shaver before and in my opinion it was a winner.

 

I've never used shaving cream so I love the moisturising strips which mean I only need to use a bit of shower gel and water and I'm good to go.  The strips also mean I don't have to worry about cutting myself, though I only have once before anyway.

My legs feel lovely and smooth after shaving, not to mention soft.  I also don't find myself getting so many ingrown hairs though I don't know the science behind that.  My skin is dry as it is so anything that will give it back some moisture is a champion in my book.

I LOVE the fact this has a $5 off voucher with it as I will definitely be repurchasing!  Thumbs up from me :)

What's your favourite shaver?  Let me know if you have tried this one and what you thought!

Sometimes things don't go to plan

I had a plan for my Saturday and for once it was to do nothing.  We were going to have people stay over Friday night but they needed to go at around 9:30 am and then the rest of the day was ours.  We were going out to tea that night so we had planned for 8 hours of blank bliss :)

But sometimes things don't go to plan.  I hadn't taken it into account that we might need to get things done and so it ended up that we had a lot of boring "house" stuff to do like always.  I cooked and cleaned instead of my nothing day and ended up feeling happier than I probably would've if I'd done zip.  I now have a tidy house and a fresh start to the week which is what makes me happy.  And I look back on my weekend and I think that it was pretty good :)

This week I want to try to start being more productive with my time because I'm sick of being lazy.  I love my house being clean but can't be bothered a lot of the time.  I complain about being stressed but mostly it's my fault.  No one's life is perfect but there are a lot of people who are dealing with a whole lot more than me.  It's easy to listen to the voice in your head that tells you not to bother, that tells you it's all a waste of time.  But I'm sick of being lazy, enough is enough.

Haha wow that was a bit of a ramble, sorry about that!

In other news on Sunday I found out that I won a competition I had entered with Chi Chi Cosmetics.  The price includes the following:

Super BB Cream in your choice of shade    ($22.95)

3D Magic Lash Mascara    ($ 22.95each)

2 Viva La Diva Lipsticks    ($18.95 each)

2 Creamy Matte Liquid Lipsticks    ($16.95 each)

6 Baked Eyeshadows    ($14.95 each)

I can't wait to get the prize and I'll make sure to do a post with swatches of the products and reviews.  I've become quite a fan of Chi Chi's eyeshadow palettes so I'm looking forward to trying the baked eyeshadows.

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.  Let me know if you've tried Chi Chi Cosmetics and what your favourite product is.

TAG: Questions & Answers

I wasn’t tagged to do this, but I did read Zoella’s post and wanted to do my own.  I love these sort of tags!

Rules:

1. Respond and rework: answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.

2. Tag eight other un-tagged people

What is your current fashion obsession?

I absolutely ADORE anything peplum!

What is your current makeup obsession?

 I love lipsticks at the moment... especially a nice pink :)

What are you wearing today?

 A striped dress from Big W, a black cardie & black shoes with bows on them.

Hair?

It's so yuck today, up in a pony :P  Can't wait to get home and wash it!

Do you nap a lot?

 I never used to nap but now there is

Why is today special?

Because I get a night off! :)  My husband, his brother & friend are going to the soccer and I am staying home and watching TV and doing a bit of cleaning.  I love nights like this.  My brother-in-law and his wife and then staying the night later on which will be nice.

What would you like to learn to do?

I would love to learn another language.  Also would you love to be able to 'technically' sing.

What's for dinner today?

Not sure, I'm living on the edge today!  It's just me so probably just a salad as I won't really bother.  Or maybe some of my favourite Korean noodles!  YUM

What are you listening to right now?

 Imagine Dragons - On Top Of The World.  I like the song but it is played A LOT!

What is your favorite weather?

I love all different seasons/types of weather.  I love cosying up in the cold & rain but also love the warm sun.  I think 25 degrees is my ideal temperature :)

What's the last thing you bought?

 Petrol at the Petrol Station on my way to work... what a glamorous life I lead!

What are your essentials when traveling?

Mascara, Lipbalm, Shaver, Tinted Moisteriser, Clothes (obviously) and husband (to keep me company)

What's your style?

I'm still trying to figure that out myself :)

What is your most challenging goal right now?

Losing weight.  I don't gain weight I just stay the same which is extremely annoying!

What do you think about the person who tagged you?

 Didn't get tagged :)  But the person I 'stole' this tag from is hilarious!  I love watching Zoe's youtube videos and reading her blog.  Make sure you check her out!

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?

 I would like it to be here in Adelaide because having no mortgage would be a dream come true!

Favorite vacation spot?

Noosa :)

Name the things you cannot live without?

My faith & my family

How was your childhood?

Lovely, Happy :)

What would you like to have in your hands right now?

I was going to be corny and say my husband's hand.  But what I REALLY want at the moment is the VS Sassoon Curl Secret Hair Curler!

Isn't it beautiful? :)

What would you like to get rid of?

All the gross cochroaches & milipedes in my house at the

What are you most excited for?

Going on my next holiday :)  Which isn't even planned yet.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?

 I would go somewhere in America and SHOP SHOP SHOP haha it is so much cheaper over there!  You lucky ducks!

Which countries have you visited?

 My first overseas trip was in 2007 when I was 14 and was to England and Scotland (plus Wales for a day).  I loved it there, it was like a fairytale, so beautiful!  We mainly stayed in the country which was lovely though we did have a day trip to London.

At the end of 2008 I went to New Zealand which was beautiful and not to far away :)

Last year I went to Canada and America for my brother's wedding.  We went in Summer so had humidity instead of snow unfortunately.  I want to go back at the end of this year!


I tag all of you to do this Questions & Answers post.  I'd love to read your posts so make sure you comment with a link to your blog so that I can :)