Tuesday, December 14, 2010

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!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

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!!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

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!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

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!