Work Xmas Dinner Outfit

Hi everyone,
tonight's blog is just a quick outfit post from my work Xmas dinner which was this evening.  It was just at a small Italian restaurant and I didn't stay too late because I'll have an early start tomorrow.

Top - Dotti; Jeans - MNG; Cardi - Temt; Shoes - Witchery; Jewellery - Mimco

Bracelets - both from Mimco

I picked up the Noir Chain Bracelet last week when Mimco had 20% off storewide.  I wore the Dark Secret Bracelet as well.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Don't forget to vote in my poll in the side column if you haven't already!  I think there are four days left until it closes.  A big thank you to people who have given their input so far!

Dinner at Sebel Heritage + Outfit

Hello again,
My brother had his university graduation ceremony on Saturday, so we went out for dinner on Saturday night to celebrate.  It was a bit last minute so we ended up going to the Bella Restaurant at Sebel Heritage in Yarra Valley.  It was quite nice and fancy although I forgot to take pictures of my main (ricotta filled zuchini flowers with a tomato based sauce) and only got photos of desserts.

This is what I wore:

 

Dress - Forever New; Heart Stockings - Sportsgirl; Shoes - Siren; Bag - Etsy; Bracelet - Mimco

My brother and I both had a dark chocolate and pistachio fondant with vanilla icecream and honeycomb.  The fondant was nice and gooey in the middle, yum!

My sister had a strawberry romanoff with meringues.

Mum had a vanilla and lavendar panna cotta with caramelised nectarines.

Thanks for reading!

Project 20 Pan update: items 10 - 14

Hi everyone,
apologies for the lack of posting, I've just been crazy busy this past week and haven't had a chance to write anything.  Since my last Project 20 Pan post I've used up a few more items.  I've already given my thoughts on the Tommy Hilfiger Dreaming perfume, Covergirl pressed powder (I finished another one of these) and the Burt's Bees lip balm, but I also finished a Trilogy Moisturiser and a NYX foundation.

L-R: Burt's Bees Lip Balm; Trilogy Moisturiser; NYX Liquid Foundation; Covergirl Pressed Powder; Tommy Hilfiger Dreaming Perfume

I received the Trilogy Vital Moisturising Cream as a promotional gift when Trilogy had some kind of competition last year to sign up for their email list.  I have really enjoyed using this and will definitely purchase again, once I go through the two unopened moisturisers I have in my stash. It's a really light cream that blends and absorbs in perfectly without feeling greasy or sticky.  I used this morning and night and it gave my skin a really nice glow (I think this is from the Rosehip as I've heard that Rosehip oil is great for adding a nice glow to your skin).  I also really liked the fragrance, it was a nice fresh, kind of earthy fragrance that was not too overpowering (earthy makes is sound like dirt, haha!  I really don't know how else to describe it, but it wasn't a dirt smell!).  My only criticism would be the packaging - I think a squeezable tube is more hygenic than a jar you dip your fingers in everyday.  Obviously I wash my hands first, but I think a tube is better packaging than a jar.

The next product was a NYX The Makeup Liquid Foundation.  This is probably my HG foundation as it is the only affordable foundation I have been able to find in a shade light enough for my skin.  This is, in fact, a teeny bit too light (so I mix it 2 parts to 1 with a Bourjois foundation that is slightly too dark for me), which is a world first for "drugstore" foundations.  Usually I try the lightest shade in a drugstore foundation, generally labeled as "porcelain" or "vanilla", and what does it look like on my pale skin? Orange!!  I would say Maybelline is probably the worst offender in this department. Covergirl does have some ok lighter shades, as does Revlon.  But I don't even bother trying Maybelline, L'Oreal or Max Factor foundations anymore.  Anyway, back to the NYX foundation, it is a great colour match for me, which is really the most important thing for me.  It gives good coverage though and doesn't break me out or make my oily or anything like that.  I would highly recommend that any fair skinned gals like me try this out if you are sick of budget level foundations making you look like an oopma loompa.

For any Melbournites looking for the NYX foundation, it is stocked at Groove accessories for around $20 or so, but the cheapest place I have found in Melbourne is at the shopping center above Southern Cross (aka Spencer St) station.  Between Blockout and the perfume outlet store (called Cosmetics Fragrance Direct or something like that), there is a clothing store which looks like one of those temporary outlet places and on the counter they have a display of various NYX products.  They sell the foundation for $5.  I haven't been to Southern Cross for a while though, so I can't be 100% certain that this store is still there, because it did look kind of temporary.

So this brings my Project 20 Pan total to 14 which means I only have six more items to go.  Although I did promise myself that I would finish at least 10 makeup items and thus far I have only finished six, so depending on what the next six items are, I may have to make it a Project 21 or 22 Pan.  Hopefully I'll be finished sometime early in the new year.  I already have a list as long as my arm of things I want to buy, haha!

Thanks for reading!!

Weekend, Outfit, New Sunglasses

Hello everyone, hope you've all had a great weekend!

I didn't really do much - just work on Saturday morning, then I helped my mum get ready for her work Xmas party in the afternoon.  She asked me to do a makeover so I just curled her hair, did some simple makeup etc.  Then I went for a run in the evening and we got pizzas for dinner.  They gave us the wrong pizza so I had to drive back to the pizza place to get the right one - how annoying!!  But they let us keep they wrong one, so I guess we got a free pizza out of the extra trip, haha!  And we watched a movie called Laputa Castle in the Sky.  It's a Hayao Miyazaki movie (Japanese animated movie), from the same writer director as Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle etc.  It was a little bit weird, but it had a nice ending.

Then today I went for another run, although because I was a bit lazy and was just bumming around this morning I didn't go until about 1.00pm and it was so hot!!  I was drenched in sweat by the end (TMI? Sorry!) and almost tempted to collaspe on one of the many hard rubbish collection couches or mattresses along the street (it's hard rubbish collection time in our suburb) although they would probably be full of bugs/spiders so I resisted the urge.

Then I drove to Greensborough to pick up my new sunglasses/help my sister pick some new frames for her glasses/pick her up from work.

My sister had a voucher from her work for 50% off at Sunglass Hut, so I got these Versace Sunglasses.

Versace Sunglasses

They just have a small Medusa logo on the side.  I'm not keen on sunglasses with giant diamonte logos plastered all over them (to me, they look tacky), but I think the logo on these is not too big that it screams designer.

This is what I wore today (I have no idea why my feet are turned in the opposite direction of the rest of my body, haha!):

Sunday Outfit

Top - Jeans West; Jeans - MNG; Shoes - Rubi; Bracelet - Mimco

Thanks for reading, have a great week everybody!

Casual Friday + Shopping!

Hi everyone,
Friday was casual clothes day again, this is what I wore:

Casual Friday Outfit

Top - Dotti; Cardigan - Temt; Black Skinny pants - Living Doll; Jewellery - Etsy Heart Bracelet and Mimco Curb Chain Bracelet

I haven't been able to fit into those pants for over a year, so I was really happy to be able to get back into them again!

I got a few new things this week - some bottoms for work, a few cardis and a top from Sportsgirl!

Jeans West cardigan - $20 (with $20 off birthday voucher)

Jeans West cardigan - $24 (with 40% Off Storewide offer)

Sportsgirl was having 20% Off Storewide on Thursday, so I picked up the short sleeve knit that I had my eye on a while ago.

Sportsgirl Knit

Cropped pants - All from Target

The far left ones are a kind of black and white fine check/weave pattern (but the look grey in the picture), the middle pair are just plain black and the far right are grey and in a more slim, tapered leg style.  I think I will get a lot of wear from these this summer and they were all very inexpensive.  One pair (can't remember which one) was $39, the other two were around $20.  All were marked as $45 - I love shopping at Target when things just randomly scan at a lower price!!

I also got this skirt from Target, it was marked at $39 and scanned for $20!

Target Skirt

It's hard to tell, but it has some panelling detail at the sides.  It's a longer length as well, about knee length which is good because I'll be able to wear it in Summer without stockings, without showing too much leg.

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: Ulta3 Waterlily

Hi everyone,
I finally redid my nails last night, this time with Ulta3's Waterlily.  This is a deep shimmery purple with a teeny bit of red and gold to it.

Ulta3 Waterlily Nail Polish

This applied nicely and was opaque in two coats!

Thanks for reading!

Xmas Wishlist - Too Faced Cosmetics

Hi everyone,

As Christmas draws nearer, I thought I would share a few things on my current wishlist.

I blogged about the Too Faced Naked and Neutral Eye Palettes a while back, these are still probably number one on my list right now.  I wear a lot of neutral eye looks and I think it would be handy to have a great range of combinations and looks all in one (or two, haha!) handy little kit(s).

Too Faced Naked Eye Kit - image sourced from http://makeup.apothica.com/too-faced.html

Too Faced Natural Eye Kit - image sourced from http://makeup.apothica.com/too-faced.html

The other Too Faced product I'd love to try is the Primed and Poreless Powder.  I'd like to try this as a setting powder, as with my pale skin, I find it hard to find "translucent" powders that are actually translucent as most companies' idea of "translucent" is way too dark for me.  The Primed and Poreless powder looks white in the jar and really does go on translucent so it would be perfect for any pale skinned gals like me.

Too Faced Primed and Poreless Powder - image sourced from http://apothica.com/too-faced.html

Thanks for reading, feel free to leave a comment to let me know what's on your Christmas wishlist!

Work Wardrobe

Hi everyone,
I've mentioned previously that I'm doing a uni placement at the moment, at a hospital.  It is a bit of an adjustment going from my usual "uniform" of wearing jeans everyday to dressing for a office/business environment.  The hospital I'm at currently is more relaxed than the other hospital I've done a placement at, but I guess every workplace is different.

Anyway, here is a sampling of outfits I have worn so far.  As I'm not working full time yet, I don't really want to invest a whole lot in a work wardrobe so most of my work clothes are form Target or similar.  I think you can still dress nicely on a budget and I have found some great pieces in Target and the like for very reasonable prices.  I find Glassons is also a great place to look for affordable work wear.

Short sleeve knit: Valleygirl; Skirt: Target

Pink Ruffle Top: Tokito (Miss Shop in Myer); Black Pants: Bardot

Black Knit: Temt; Skirt: Target; Tights: Voodoo (from Myer)

Top: Sportsgirl; Skirt: Target

Thanks for reading and let me know if you are interested in seeing more Work Outfits from me!

NOTD: Ulta3 Black Plum + Weekend

Hi everyone, hope you've all had a great weekend!

Today's nails are Ulta3 Black Plum - a gorgeous vampy plum with metallic red shimmer!!  I know it's almost summer but the gloomy Melbourne weather we've been having lately is making me go for darker shades.  I promise I'll bust out some brighter ones once the weather picks up!

Ulta3 Black Plum Nail Polish

My weekend has been fairly boring: worked on Saturday, then picked my sister up from work and went to go vote.  I spent the rest of the day hanging around in exercise gear waiting for it to stop raining for long enough so I could go for a run, but it never did.  Today I slept in, went for a run, made a vanilla slice (no pics because the custard part didn't set properly so it was a bit of an oozing mess) and some scones for afternoon tea (which ended up being supper because people didn't arrive until 8.30).  One of my friends from high school is leaving for Malaysia and Vietnam on Wednesday (so jealous!!) so we all wanted to catch up before he leaves.

My run today was pretty good, I think I'm getting faster as I ran about 4.5km today (compared to around 4km when I first got to the half hour mark). I kept slowing down today though because it is hard rubbish collection in my suburb at the moment so I was slowing down to look at what people are throwing out - I saw an eliptical cross trainer a few days ago but it was gone today so I guess someone must've taken it.  My dad was going to throw out a microscope kit from the 70's or 80's that he found somewhere around the house.  Luckily, I intervened in time!!!  I know, I'm a huge nerd, haha!  I think the light globe is broken so I'll have to see if I can fix that so I can look at cool things under my vintage microscope!

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Don't forget to vote in my poll (if you haven't already) to let me know what you'd like to see more of on my blog.  You can pick as many options as you want.  I've noticed quite a few people are interested in these general life types updates so I will try to make more of those.  And remember, you can also email me suggestions too: thelovelygangster(at)gmail(dot)com.

Project 20 Pan items 6 - 9

Hi everyone,

In the past few weeks I have finished off a few more items for my Project 20 Pan.

Covergirl Olay Primer, Ralph Lauren Romance Perfume, Maybelline Coversitck Concealer and The Body Shop Touche Lumiere Concealer

Covergirl Olay Primer - this is a silicone based primer and gives a good matte surface for your makeup.  I really liked this and will repurchase after P20P is over, however, priced at around $25, this is one of the pricier "drugstore" primers so I would tend to wait until this goes on sale.  Also, this primer is good for absorbing oil from your skin throughout the day to prevent your foundation from sliding off, however it was not the most moisturing of products (I use a moisturiser underneath) so I would probably not recommend this for people with dry skin.  Don't be alarmed by the opaque, completely white colour of this, it blends in nicely and won't make you look like a geisha!

Ralph Lauren Romance Perfume - I gave my thoughts on this in my Perfume Collection post so I won't bore you by repeating myself!

Maybelline Coverstick Concealer - this product was ok, nothing special but does what it is supposed to do.  Sometimes I like to use a cream concealer (as opposed to liquid) on days when I have more to hide (e.g. pimples, very dark undereye circles etc).  I like the idea of a stick as I think it is probably a little more hygenic than a pot that you stick your finger in everyday.

The Body Shop Touche Lumiere - I like to think of this as a rip-off of Touche Eclat (which I purchased earlier this year, but am yet to try out).  It's a liquid undereye concealer in one of those automatic twisty brush type contraptions.  This has a peachy orange tone which is good for cancelling out the blue/purple tones of undereye circles, which I often have.  I'm still searching for the perfect thing to cover them and I have my eye on a few products from Benefit, once P20P is done...although I think the perfect solution would probably be to get more sleep, but I don't have time for this!  Touche Lumiere has good pigmentation and covers discolouration quite well.  As far as I'm aware, this product has been discontinued.

I'm now almost halfway though, how exciting!!  I have been tempted a few times, but so far I have managed to resist.  A few items thus far have been skincare, perfume and lip balm.  It was part of my original plan to include these, however I think I will add a clause to my Project 20 Pan.  As I think that makeup items are really what I have too much of, I have decided that as part of the 20 items which I use up, a minimum of 10 items must be makeup items.

Thanks for reading!!

Casual Friday Outfit + New Mimco Bracelet

Hi everyone,
today was casual Friday at the hospital where I am doing my placement and this is what I wore:

Casual Friday Outfit

Casual Friday Ootfit

Jeans - MNG
Top - Jeanswest
Jacket - Dotti
Scarf - Dotti

I also wore my new Mimco Dark Secret bracelet.  This arrived from the UK last week (it worked out to buy cheaper from the UK website, including shipping, than to buy from here....how strange?  Just goes to show how we get ripped off on everything, including things made by an Australian company) but I haven't got around to posting pics yet, so here it is:

Mimco Dark Secret Bracelet

Mimco Dark Secret Bracelet

And just for fun, here is my eye makeup look from today as well:

 

Thanks for reading, hope you all have a great weekend!!

NOTD: Revlon Plum Night

Today's nails are Revlon Plum Night, a dark plummy purple creme.  This is two coats plus top coat.

Revlon Plum Attraction nail polish

Current Lemmings

I am super broke at the moment, so here is a list of things I'm currently wanting but can't afford to buy.

Knit top from Sportsgirl - image sourced from www.sportsgirl.com.au

Urban Decay Naked Palette - image sourced from www.urbandecay.com

Too Faced Naked Eye Kit - image sourced from www.toofaced.com

Mimco Bracelet - image sourced from www.mimco.com.au

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: Ulta3 Wildberry + Uni placement

Today's nails are Ulta3 Wildberry, a dark grey creme.  This went on nicely and was opaque in two coats.  I think it is a nice alternative to black polish for times when you want a darker nail colour without looking too gothic.

Ulta3 Wildberry nail polish

In other news, as I mentioned in my neutral nails posts, I have started a uni placement (at a hospital) on Monday.  I have really enjoyed the first two days and am looking forward to the rest.  The only downer is that my last day will be Xmas eve, so no time to do Xmas shopping!!

All the staff are very friendly and there is quite a relaxed atmosphere - they even have casual dress every Friday, so I will try to post some Friday outfits.  My "work" wardrobe is fairly boring so I apologise for the lack of outfit/fashion related posts, but hopefully I will remember to take pics this Friday.

Thanks for reading!!

NOTD: Ulta3 Sweet 'n' Natural

Another neutral polish for my nails today - Ulta3 Sweet 'n' Natural.  This was pretty thin and streaky, a bit of a pain to apply.  It's a slightly pink toned bronze colour.  I did three coats (plus top coat).

Ulta3 Sweet 'n' Natural

Novo Shoes 40% Off Voucher/Coupon

Hello everyone!

Just quickly, before I have dinner, I have another pre-Xmas sale voucher to share with you.  This one is for Novo Shoes - print it off to receive 40% off bags and shoes instore.  Valid 25-28th November.

Novo Shoes 40% Off Voucher/Coupon

Enjoy!

NOTD: Ulta3 French Nude

Hi everyone!
Tomorrow, I'm starting my uni placement so I thought I'd stick to something neutral for my first day.  This is Ulta3 French Nude.  It's a little more yellow than Ulta3 Allure which I wore a few weeks ago.  I think I prefer Allure. Apologies for the inflamed cuticle on my index finger, I tried to crop most of it out.

With flash

Reminder of what Allure looks like

Thanks for reading!

Harry Potter Seven Part I + Outfit of the Day

Hello again,
today after work I went over to Westfield Doncaster to see the first part of Harry Potter 7 with some friends.  I read the book when it came out, but haven't re-read it since so I was a little bit lost and kept asking which character was which, who was evil etc.  I'm not really a movie guru or anything, but I thought overall it was pretty good, especially the special effects.

There were heaps of really little kids in the cinema though, like 5 and 6 year olds.  There is no way I would have gone to a movie like that when I was that little!!

For today's outfit, I wore the pleated black cami top that I purchased a few weeks ago from Jeans West.  No picture because I couldn't get a good one, so here is a reminder of what it looked like.

Image sourced from www.jeanswest.com.au

While we were at Doncaster I stopped by the Estee Lauder counter in DJ's to pick up a sample of the fragrance Beautiful.  I'm not really a fan so I'll probably give it to my mum, haha!  I think most of Estee Lauder's fragrances are for a more "mature" target audience anyway.

Thanks for reading!

Daiso and Passionflower + Outfit of the Day

Hi everyone,

On Friday I made another trip to Daiso, this time with my sister!  We had lunch in the city first (at a Malaysian restaurant in QV) and then hopped on the tram out to Abbortsford.  There was quite a bit more stock than Thursday's trip, but there were a lot of unpacked boxes in the aisles and still quite a few empty shelves.

I bought some gift bags (for Xmas, birthdays etc.) and some origami paper.

Japanese gift bags and origami paper from Daiso

 My sister bought an umbrella, some wrapping paper, gift bags, origami paper, oil blotting sheets, a little key charm thing and some little felt decorations for craft projects.

My sister's purchases from Daiso

Click on the jump at the end of this post to see the rest of my photos from Daiso!

Then after Daiso, we had dessert at Passionflower.  The menu is so overwhelming, I wanted to try about five different things!!!  And they let you taste the different icecream flavours before you decide what you want to order!

I ended up ordering Tiramisu, which was nice but I was feeling a bit sick by the end because it was so creamy.

Tiramisu - Passionflower

 My sister had banana crepes with sticky rice and coconut icecreams.  The sticky rice icecream was ok (it actually has grains of rice in it!) but the flavour was a bit meh - just a generic sweet flavour.  She said the crepes were nice though!

Banana crepes - Passionflower

Look at all the different icecream flavours!!  They have lots of Asian inspired flavours like sticky rice, red bean, jackfruit, green tea, durian, black sesame etc.  I tried Kumquat and Wild Lime Sorbet.

Passionflower

On the way back to Melbourne Central to get the train home, I bought these shoes from Cotton On.  I think they will be cute for Summer!  You can't see all that well in the picture, but they have little bows on them.

Flats from Cotton On

It was sunny so I wore a summery top, but it turned out to be freezing, only about 20oC or so.  Lucky I brought a cardigan as well!

My outfit for the day

Top - Dotti
Cardi - Quick Brown Fox
Jeans - MNG

Thanks for reading!

P.S. - don't forget to vote in the poll I have going in the side column to give your input of what you'd like to see more of on my blog!

P.P.S. I took a heap of photos in Daiso, but I didn't want to spam you all with them, so click on the jump to see the rest of my photos from Daiso!