The Thailand Adventure | Chiang Mai

One of my biggest regrets from Thailand was not using my camera enough. Ideally I would have taken it everywhere and had hundreds of photos to show you, but for some reason I didn't. I know. I suck. So I thought I'd share with you the photos that I did take! The first four photos are from Doi Suthep, a temple in Chiang Mai at the top of a 300 step staircase. Chiang Mai was a great experience for us, we spent nearly every night at the infamous night markets as they were conveniently located right outside our hotel. The other highlight from Chiang Mai and possibly the whole trip was our Flight of the Gibbons experience. A zip lining tour through the jungle, the longest line spanning 800m. It was such an incredible experience I'd recommend this to anyone visiting Chiang Mai! 

Preparing For A Hair Change

I'm sure most of you would know about the new hair trend floating around social media over the past year or so (and if you haven't, where have you been??). The LOB, otherwise known as the "long bob" has been seen on the likes of many celebrities including Kylie Jenner, Lucy Hale and Lauren Conrad. 

I recently made the spontaneous decision a couple of weeks ago to follow the trend and chop off all (well, nearly all) of my long mane. But I didn't do so without having researched it first. I haven't had short hair since I was about 6 when my mother made me cut it short, so this was a pretty big change for me and I wanted to get it right. No regrets! I took in about 10 photos for my hairdresser to give her an idea of what I wanted - grazing the shoulders was generally what I was aiming for. 

A good place to start your own research would be the instagram of the hair queen herself- Kristin Ess, who styles the likes of Lauren Conrad and Lucy Hale and who's instagram is just all kinds of hair heaven! 

Goodluck in any of your hair endeavours and remember - do your research!

Lush Haul #2 | 1 Year Anniversary

I remember writing my very first blog post like it was yesterday! The post where I spent way too much time perusing the christmas collection at Lush and walking out spending way too much money. One year later I was back to Lush and back to frothing over the Christmas goodies (I didn't spend as much money this time...yet.) So to celebrate one year of blogging for me I thought it would be quite fitting to post another Lush haul!

I of course had to pick up my favourite bath bomb of all time- the So White bath bomb.. I actually picked up two and I'm tempted to go back for more! It's one of the simplest bath bombs in the collection but it is also one of the most popular and I think that is because it has such a fresh scent to it. It has a slight hint of apple which makes it perfect for a summer bath I think.

The next thing I picked up is a bath melt which I believe is called the Cauldron Bath Melt. It has cocoa butter and walnut oil in its great for moisturising and nourishing the skin. The melt is wrapped in a muslin cloth. You use it by dipping it into the water (muslin cloth and all) and as the product melts, you end up with a muslin bag full of whole oats which can be used as a gentle and soothing scrub.

The last thing I got was this Tea Tree Water Spray. I have been using this every night since I got it two weeks ago. Tea tree oil has great antibacterial properties in it that make it perfect for oily, troubled or acne-prone skin. I use it right before moisturising (after cleansing, exfoliating or masking). It's very refreshing and leaves your skin feeling hydrated and clean!

If a Lush store in November can't get you in the Christmas spirit then I don't know what will! 

Zoeva Brushes | A Review

I have been eyeing these beautiful brushes from Zoeva for literally months now and I finally decided that I would splurge on them for my birthday- a little birthday present to myself! This is the Rose Gold Luxury Set  which retails at 65 Euros or $92 AUD. Now many of you may be thinking, "ninety dollars for makeup brushes??" but let me break it down for you. There are 8 brushes in the entire set so that's roughly $11.50 per brush. Doesn't sound too bad now does it? Plus you also get a gorgeous faux leather clutch/makeup bag which is the perfect size! And the rose gold detailing just sold me on this one!

The brushes themselves are actually amazing quality too, all fluffy, all super soft. I particularly like the 102 Silk Finish brush (first from left) for buffing in foundation as it leaves a very natural finish on the skin. Other notable mentions include the 110 Face Shape brush (4th from left) which is perfect for blending our under eye concealer. The 227 Soft Definer brush (5th from left) which is pretty much a perfect dupe for the MAC 217 but soo much cheaper and almost nicer and fluffier.

I did purchase a couple of other products as I was perusing the Zoeva website including these two Luxe Creme Lipsticks and this Luxe Colour Blush. "Faith and Love" lipstick is a salmon-nude which is VERY opaque. "Melting Kisses" is a bright peachy pink. Both formulas are extremely opaque and pigmented. One swipe across the lip and you completely lose your natural lip shade. I will admit, this slightly freaked me out as I have only recently delved into the world of lip products and have mostly been using sheer formulas that are "your lip but better" colours, so these lipsticks are slightly out of my comfort zone. The packaging is great, with a magnetic shut (and a very satisfying click close), sleek charcoal tube and the fancy Zoeva logo, I was sold at the packaging itself. So if you like opacity, pigmentation, creamy formulas and fabulous then these are definitely some to try.

The blush is where I am left disappointed. Which confuses me because I had heard a couple of good recommendations about this blush which is why I bought it in the first place. The packaging is great with being sleek, black, satisfying close, compact-style mirror and the Zoeva logo engraved into the product, I was expecting great things. The formula is not for me, it is patchy in its application and slightly chalky in texture. The shade also wasn't right for me, it made me look like I'd been lying in the sun too long and burnt my cheeks- not a cute look.

Overall I am pretty impressed with Zoeva- particularly their brushes as they are of fantastic quality so I would highly recommend giving them a go! 

TWO TO TRY

I have recently heard a lot about the Jouer Cosmetics from various different beauty bloggers and decided it was time to give it a go. And boy am I impressed!

Lets talk packaging. I know its materialistic, but I often judge brands on the appearance, feel and quality of their packaging. Jouer have really got their packaging down-pat. Its sleek, sophisticated and just down-right beautiful.

I picked up the Creme Eyeshadow Crayon in Baroque which is a bronzy browny shimmery colour. But not too much shimmer. It is beautiful, creamy, easy to blend and the perfect colour. I have been reaching for this more than any other eyeshadow recently. I apply it directly to the lid and blend it out with a fluffy blending brush. It could pass as a great dupe for the ever-famous ByTerry Ombre Blackstars, but at half the price!

The other thing I picked up was the Anti-Blemish Matte Primer. It is a beautiful smooth consistency, and despite the name it doesn't leave the skin looking too dry. Matte and hydration- is that even possible? It appears so. This isn't the greatest product for minimising the appearance of pores, however it does help your base makeup to stay on your skin longer and just gives a perfect base for foundation.

Overall, I am pretty impressed with Jouer. I'll definitely be picking up a few more things from them!

The Closest Bioderma Dupe?

Bioderma is infamous for being the best makeup remover, quite possibly- ever. It's supposed to gentle on the skin, fast at dissolving makeup (including the stubborn waterproof kind) and is generally known for being an all round staple product. 

Garnier have recently come out with their own version of a Micellar Cleansing Water, which feels like water, but acts like a cleanser/makeup remover. It is extremely gentle on the skin and removes makeup super easily. The only downside? It doesn't remove waterproof makeup so for those of you who love your waterproof mascara it would be wise to give this a miss. However, if you are like me and rarely ever use waterproof mascara (except at weddings, where i am guaranteed to tear up) then this product is right up your street! $39.95 for a 500mL bottle of Bioderma versus $11.99 for a 400mL of Garnier, I think the choice is very obvious. 

Eye-Lovin' | Makeup Edit

I've heard a lot about this new False Lash Butterfly mascara from L'Oreal and I decided to give it a go. When I was in Priceline I saw that they had a 2 for $35 deal on this particular mascara and this particular eyeliner- that is, the L'Oreal Super Liner (another product i'd heard great things about). So I picked them both up and put them to the test!

Let's talk mascara first. The mascara has a plastic applicator, something which I personally prefer in a mascara. The bristles on the wand are very different to anything else I have ever used, two rows of bristles begin quite short and stubby and curve into longer bristles. This is actually wonderful as it fits perfectly to the shape of the eye, making it easier to grab onto those pesky inner and outer corner lashes. The formula is also great, for a non-waterproof mascara it lasts all day and adds the perfect amount of volume and length. 

The L'Oreal SuperLiner is a little beauty of a liner. The nib is long, thin and stiff which makes it perfect for building to the perfect cat eye, thin or thick line. I prefer wearing this very very thin practically sitting in the lash line to give the illusion of thicker, fuller lashes. 

I have been super impressed with L'Oreal recently. They seem to be sitting right in the middle when it comes to drugstore and high end brands. I find they have the quality of high end brands, yet are still more affordable than say a $65 ByTerry mascara!