NOTD: Revlon Lilac Pastelle + Revlon Peach Petal

Hi everyone,
I know I've been absent from this blog for ages - this is my final year of uni so I'm trying to focus a lot more on studying this year, but now that we're on Easter break I'll hopefully have the time to write a few blogs.

Tonight, I just have two quick manicures to share with you.  Both of these colours were purchased in my post project 20 pan haul when Priceline had a buy one get one free promotion for nail polish and lip products.  I'll try to post up swatches of the lip things I bought later this week.

Anyway, onto the pictures....

Revlon Lilac Pastelle

This was Revlon Lilac Pastelle, from one of the Revlon limited edition seasonal ranges from last year.  It actually looked quite pink in some lights and I'm still not 100% what I think of this colour.  This needed four coats.

Revlon Peach Petal

This needed five coats and I still had a bit of a visible nail line on some nails, so it was quite sheer.  Likewise, I'm not too sure what I think of this.  I found both these colours looked a little bit fluoro in some lights, although maybe they just don't suit my skin tone?  In real life, Peach Petal looks more orange than this but it would be a nice colour for spring.

Thanks for reading!

Project 20 Pan - finally completed!!!

Hi everyone!

I'm proud to announce that I have finished my 10th and final makeup item, which means I have finished my Project 20 Pan!  I haven't purchased a single item of makeup, skincare, perfume or nail polish for around six months now, and it feels good to have used up a few things that were lying around.

Project 20 Pan empties

I kept most of the empty containers just because I thought it would be fun to lay them all out together at the end (although I must've chucked out a few by mistake because there are only 18 or 19 in that picture).

Apart from a few things I have on my wishlist at the moment, I'd like to stay on the "no spend" bandwagon for the most part and from now on only purchase things to replace something that's been finished or something that is completely different from anything I already own.  In addition to trying to save for a small holiday at the end of this year (don't know where yet), I'm also trying to make an effort to be conscious of the impact that my consumption of goods has on the environment and other people (i.e. the people who make the goods that I consume).

This is getting a bit off-topic, but I read the book Affluenza by Clive Hamilton last year and the book Spent: Memoirs of a Shopping Addict by Avis Cardella earlier this year, in attempt to curb my shopping and spending habits.  I wouldn't consider myself a shopping addict by any stretch, but I am, like most women my age probably, guilty of the occasional impulse purchase and sometimes spending more than I should.  So this year, I'll try my best to reduce my shopping which will hopefully have two positive outcomes: I should be able to save more and hopefully afford a holiday at the end of the year and I will be able to feel better about the impact my lifestyle has on others.

So, the last item I used up was a Bourjois Mineral Radiance Pressed Powder which I was just using to set my foundation.  It was ok, although like all Bourjois Powders, the shade is very pink.  It also has that trademark "old lady makeup" smell which all Bourjois powder products seem to have.  I didn't really find that it gave my skin any kind of radiance (I'm still not really sold on the whole mineral makeup craze), but it was ok as a setting powder.  Having said that, I probably wouldn't repurchase, mostly because I dislike the heavy fragrance.

Bourjois Mineral Radiance Pressed Powder

Since finishing a few days ago, I actually haven't bought anything new.  I do have my eye on a few lip products though (I'm really keen to try the Body Shop Delipscious lipsticks and I might purchase a few Revlon lippies on eBay as well, as that seems to be the cheapest way to go), so stay tuned for some new purchases in the hopefully not too distant future!

Thanks for reading!

Quick Outfit + update on life!

Hi everyone!!  Long time no blog - I really must apologise for my extended absence from blogging, life just got crazy busy for me in January and February.  I was taking a summer subject at uni, working on the weekends, writing a research report for my summer subject, first aid volunteering, organising book donations for some recent graduates that are going to work in the Pacific for a few weeks, trying to fit in exercise (I ran my first ever 10km last week!!!!) and socialising and I just had no time to write any posts.

I'm back at uni now, as of yesterday, and it looks like this semester will be pretty full on (we're off campus on placements for six weeks, so for the six we do have on campus, the timetable is pretty full!  Six lectures a day sometimes!  Makes me feel like falling asleep just thinking about it haha!)  I think every uni student probably says this at the start of every semester, but I think this semester I will try to put in a big effort to try to improve my marks a little.  My marks are o.k. and I think I will graduate with honours, but at this stage I am still undecided as to where I want to go career wise so I'd like to have the option of pursuing post-grad study (probably a PhD), but I think my marks at the moment might not be good enough to get a scholarship.

Anyway, enough boring talk about uni...here is what I wore to uni today:

Cardi - Temt; Dress - Jay Jays; Footless tights - Target; Flats - Country Road

The dress was actually a playsuit/romper thing that I bought a while ago from Jay Jays.  I really liked the print, but disliked the idea of having to strip off completely to go the loo, so I pulled out the sewing machine and altered it into a dress!  I was quite proud of myself, haha!

The weather in Melbourne is so gloomy at the moment, hopefully there will be some more sunshine soon.  It was only about 16 degrees when I left the house this morning and I almost thought of taking a winter coat, but then I thought, no I'll look silly carrying a coat around on the first day of Autumn, but I think I nearly needed it!

Hopefully sometime this week, I'll cobble together a montage of recent purchases (although I'm trying really hard to save since I opened a uBank savings account, so there won't be all that many).

Thanks for reading!!!!

Guest post: Perfume Collection Part II (my sister's collection)

Hi everyone!

I've mentioned a few times that I have a twin sister.  We're very close and do a lot of things together.  We also share a lot of things like clothes, shoes, bags etc and also perfume!  So continuing on from my previous perfume collection post, I thought I'd do a quick review of the perfumes in her collection as well.

L-R: Moschino Couture (back); Cacharel Scarlett (front); DKNY Delicious Night (top); Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb (bottom); Gucci Envy Me (back); Salvador Dali Purple Lips (front); Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy; Cacharel Liberté; YSL Young Sexy Lovely (top); DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom (bottom); DKNY Be Delicious (top); DKNY Delicious Candy Apples Sweet Caramel (bottom)

I've already reviewed Flowerbomb, Viva La Juicy and Young Sexy Lovely in my original perfume collection post so I won't repeat myself!  Feel free to read back over the original post if you are interested in my thoughts on these fragrances.

As you can see, my sister is quite fond of the DKNY Delicious fragrances.  In fact, if I recall correctly, Be Delicious (the original one) was her first real "grown up" perfume, a Christmas present from our parents a few years ago.  So I guess I should start with these.

Be Delicious is a nice light fragrance with a very fruity note to it.  It's quite crisp and fresh so it's perfect for hot Summer days when you want a fragrance that is not too heavy.

She describes Fresh Blossom as one of her favourites.  It is more floral than the original with a strong scent of rose, but still very light and great for everyday wear as well.

Delicious Night is a much spicier, heavier fragrance which is great for night-time wear.

Finally, Candy Apples Sweet Caramel is a warmer version of the original with notes of vanilla and caramel.  This is quite sweet, but still light enough for everyday wear.

She also has a few Cacharel perfumes.  I know most people probably think of Anais Anais (and their grandma!!) when they think of Cacharel, but Liberté and Scarlett are much younger fragrances suited for younger ladies and they are certainly very affordable.

Liberté is quite floral and citrus-y to begin with but dries on the skin to reveal soft vanilla and patchouli undertones.  Light enough for everyday wear.

Scarlett is an interesting fragrance, combining fruity orange blossom and woody sandalwood for a great everyday perfume.  The bottle of Scarlett is gorgeous too!  I'm told this was a steal for only $16!!

Purple Lips by Salvador Dali opens with a strong scent of violet and dries with notes of sandalwood and musk.  This is a more wintery fragrance but still light enough for everyday wear.

Gucci Envy Me is a nice sweet, floral which is suited for day wear in Summer.  I think the bottle design of this is really cute too!

Finally, we have Moschino Couture, which is quite a heavy, spicy fragrance with strong hints of vanilla and bergamot.  She recommends this for daywear in Winter time.

Sometimes, the thing I love most about perfumes is the bottle design....so here are a few from my sister's collection.

Cacharel Liberte; Gucci Envy Me

Cacharel Scarlett; YSL Young Sexy Lovely (limited edition bottle design)

DKNY Candy Apples Sweet Caramel; Salvador Dali Purple Lips

Hope this is interesting for some of you, thanks for reading!

Recent Outfits

Hi everyone!

I haven't posted an outfit in a while so here is a random selection of things I've worn recently.

Top - Friends of Couture; Jeans- MNG; Flats - Witchery; Bracelet - Etsy

The top has a cute floral fabric bow detail thingy around the neckline.

Friends of Couture floral bow detail

And then today I wore this:

Top - Dotti; Cardi - Temt; Jeans - MNG; Sandals - Sportsgirl; Bracelet - Mimco

Dotti lace detail top

I bought this top over a year ago, but apparently Poh from Poh's Kitchen was wearing the same top in watermelon on tonights episode (I wasn't home tonight so I didn't see it).  What a freaky coincidence!!

I think my MNG jeans might be going to denim heaven very soon, they are wearing quite thin behind the knees.

Thanks for reading!

Edit: I forgot to credit my sister for taking the photos!  She takes all of the photos for my outfit posts - thank you!!!!

Project 20 Pan: items 18 - 20

Hi everyone!

Today I'll be sharing my thoughts on items 18 - 20 of my project 20 pan.  Although I have finished 20 items, I'm not considering myself officially done yet, as I did say that I wanted to finish ten makeup items as part of the 20 and so far I've only finished nine.

L-R: YSL Young Sexy Lovely perfume; Red Earth Mattifying Makeup Base; Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation

Number 18 was a perfume, YSL's Young Sexy Lovely.  This has been discontinued so it was a bit sad to finish it, although I'm certain you can still get it at Priceline and maybe MyChemist or similar (plus I'm sure I could find it online as well).  I had this in my handbag as my everyday fragrance.  It's a nice light floral fragrance, and I get quite a strong citrus-y note from this as well.

The next product I finished was a primer, Red Earth's Mattifying Makeup Base.  I swatched this in my daily face routine post.  It's a silicon based primer so great for absorbing any oiliness which I sometimes get throughout the day.  I found this helped me achieve a matte finish which stayed in place for a reasonable amount of time (say 6-8 hours, if I wasn't doing anything too sweaty).  I think this has been discontinued though as Red Earth is not stocked in Priceline anymore (to my knowledge) and I haven't seen it elsewhere since it was discontinued from Priceline.

My 20th item was a Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation.  This was the lightest shade it comes in (light vanilla) and still way too dark for me, so I mixed this with my NYX foundation which is super light.  Apart from the limited colour range for pale skinned people like myself, I quite like this.  It has a fresh, fruity fragrance (but not too overpowering), blends quite nicely and doesn't feel heavy or cakey.  It apparently contains "Radiance Boosting Fruit Therapy" whatever that means....sounds like a bit of a gimmick to me, haha!  But overall, I quite liked this (apart from it being too dark).

For my final item(s), I am currently chippping away at a Revlon eyeliner and a Revlon lipgloss.  Hopefully I'll be finished by the end of February (which will mean a total of around six months without any new purchases).

Revlon lipgloss; Revlon eyeliner

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: Ulta3 Plum Violet

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

It seems that Summer has well and truly arrived (after some unseasonably cold weather) here in Melbourne so I did some bright nails to match the sunny weather.

This is Ulta3 Plum Violet (a present from my lovely sister - thank you!), three coats.

Ulta3 Plum Violet

This is so fun and bright, perfect for Summer!!  Thanks for reading!

High Tea at the Hotel Windsor

Hello again!

Today, two lovely friends took my sister and I out for afternoon tea at the Hotel Windsor on Spring Street as a belated birthday treat (our birthday was almost three months ago, but it was impossible to find a weekday afternoon when everyone was free).

The Hotel Windsor - High Tea

It was a delightful experience (I feel like I have to use posh words to describe it, haha!); the hotel itself is amazing and the afternoon tea was fantastic as well!  Normally, they use a different room (according to the waiter), but today, the tea was served in the Grand Ballroom which is just beautiful!

The Hotel Windsor - inside the Grand Ballroom

We began the afternoon with a glass of bubbles and some macarons (pistachio and choc-hazlenut) while we waited for the rest of the food to be served.

Macarons: Pistachio & Choc-Hazlenut

We started out with finger snadwiches.  I was really impressed with the sandwiches we had - three out the four of us are vegetarians and they prepared some extra vegtetarian options especially for us!  The sandwich fillings were egg & snow pea tendrils; cucumber & sour cream; cheese & tomato; roasted eggplant & salad greens; and roasted capsicum & parmesan.  My sister (non-vego) also had smoked salmon and chicken sandwiches.

Finger sandwiches

Next, we had scones.  It would have been nice if they were served warm, but I guess with the large number of guests this might have been difficult.  We each had a plain scone and a raisin scone.  They were both nice, but I'm not a huge fan of raisins so I enjoyed the plain one more.  Scones are served with a choice of strawberry or summer berry jam and double cream.  I'm not sure if they maybe use yeast to make the scones rise as they had an almost bread-like texture - quite different to most scones I have had before.  They were nice and fluffy though.

Plain and raisin scones

Finally, there was a selection of mini-cakes as well.  The layered one was a peanut butter and jam (or jelly) inspired number which was quite nice; the yellow cake was some kind of lemon & passionfruit mousse served atop a thin biscuit base with a white chocolate decoration; the white chocolate cone was filled with a white chocolate mousse and a fresh raspberry on top of a cake base; and the chocolate cake was like a mousse with a fruit sauce (I think it was apricot) in the middle and a tiny piece of edible gold foil on top (very fancy!).  The lemon & passionfruit cake was my favourite!  We were all so full by the end though, haha!

Cake selection

Of course High Tea wouldn't be complete without a nice cuppa!  There is quite a good selection of tea, ranging from the traditional Earl Grey, English Breakfast etc. to some herbal and floral inspired teas as well.  I started off with the Hotel Windsor Blend which was nice but quite similar to English Breakfast.  Next, I tried Earl Grey Twist.  This was also nice, but I think I missed the "twist" as to me, this just tasted like Earl Grey.  The twist is supposed to be lemon myrtle.  I could taste a bit of citrus but it was very subtle.  But like I said, this was nice nonetheless.  I finished up with a pot of Sultry Chai which I really enjoyed.  I quite like drinking proper brewed chai tea that is peppery and spicey, much better than the overly sweet, flavourless powdered stuff!  I wanted to try the Orange Pekoe and the Chamomile & Orange Blossom as well, but I guess they will have to wait for next time.  In case you haven't guessed by now, I am a hopeless tea addict, haha!

High Tea

Last but not least, this is what I wore.

High Tea Outfit

 Blouse - Valleygirl; Pants - Forever New; Heels - Rubi; Braclets - Mimco and Etsy

This was my first high tea experience so I was a little unsure of the dresscode.  I had planned to wear a skirt but that fell through when I realised that the skirt I wanted to wear is way to big for me now and needs to be taken in.  In the end, I felt ok wearing pants though, in fact one of my friends said I was probably the most dressed up of all of us (not sure if that was true though).

I would definitely love to go for High Tea again and I think it would be interesting to try out a few different places.  The tea at Hotel Windsor is quite traditional, but I think there are hotels that do a more modern twist as well.  I'd also love to go back to the Windsor on the weekend for the dessert buffet which does look fantastic from what I've seen on various blogs, but I think I'd probably need to fast for at least a week before, and probably after as well, haha!

Thanks for reading!

UK Mimco Purchases

Hi everyone!

My sister and I did another joint order from the UK Mimco website a few weeks ago (worked out cheaper than buying things here, even including shipping!)  I got two things: the Crystal Burst Cuff and the Bella Pearl Bracelet.  I love the little pearl and crystal charms on the Bella bracelet, but the extender chain is huge!  Does anyone actually have a wrist that big?  I have to double it over when I wear it, otherwise it hangs half way down my arm!

Mimco Bella Pearl Bracelet

Mimco Crystal Burst Cuff

Mimco Crystal Burst Cuff

Nail polish in the pic is Ulta3 Allure.

Thanks for reading!

Stylish Blogger Award

Thank you to the lovely aelie from the autumn castle for nominating me for the Stylish Blogger Award!  I haven't been blogging for long, but I'm having heaps of fun so it's great to know that other people enjoy reading this blog too!

Firstly, I have to share seven random facts about myself:

1. I have a twin sister.  We are really close and share a lot of the same friends, but we do fight sometimes like all siblings do.  We were too well-behaved at school to ever play pranks on people or anything like that, but after 21 years of being called the wrong name, I will respond to almost anything!  I also have an older brother and two even older half brothers.  When I tell people I have two half brothers, probably around 50% of people will say "So, you mean one whole brother?"  Hilarious....not!

2. My surname is Dutch although my dad's heritage is actually (mostly) German.  He comes from the state North Rhein Westphalia which shares a border with Holland and many people in this state speak a dialect called "low German" or Platt, which is actually more similar to Dutch than it is German.  From the house my dad grew up in, you can see the spire of a church which is in Holland.  Sometimes I get sick of explaining to people that I'm not Dutch, I'm actually German and just say "yes" if people ask if I'm Dutch.  Although, my dad's mother was Dutch and there is Dutch background on his dad's side as well, so technically I am (partially) Dutch!  I enjoy eating various Dutch foods such as Stroopwafel, Spekulaas and Poffertjes.

3. I'm left handed.  My sister is right handed so we are a mirror-image!

4. I hate anything to do with business or economics or shares etc.  So boring!!  (No offence to people working/studying in these fields, but I just have no interest in these kinds of things).

5. I used to play piano and viola in highschool, but I haven't played properly in about three years.  Every now and then I have a go at the piano, but I don't "practice" anymore.  I would like to take them up again though as I think it would be a shame to just give them up altogether.  I have always been really jealous of people who have a natural talent for music and singing!

6. My greatest fear is probably of being attacked by a shark and dying in the water.  I'm not a huge fan of swimming full stop (unless its in a small backyard pool), but swimming in open water really freaks me out.  I remember in year 12, my family went to Hamilton Island for a holiday and we went on a snorkelling boat cruise.  We had to swim around 20-30 metres through open water (around 100m deep, I think) to get from the boat to the reef and I was terrified.  I don't think I've ever swum so fast in my life! I'm also scared of the usual things e.g. spiders, snakes, murderers etc. but thankfully I don't frequently encounter these things (expect for maybe spiders in Summer).

7. I'd like at some stage of my life to work in medical humanitarian aid with an organisation like MSF.  I am studying to become a health care professional (not a doctor though) at uni so hopefully I will one day be able to fulfill this ambition.

And the fifteen blogs I nominate for this award are (in no particular order):
Random Life of a Random Girl
Yours truly, 2095
rambling-e
The Blonde Leopard
Tune into Radio Carly
Sea of Ghosts
the autumn castle
Teacup Grunge
All Cats are Gray at Night
A Fatal Attraction to Cuteness
J'adore L'amour
Pepper and Baxter
Sleepless in Stilettos
Cotton Socks
Faux Fuchsia

Thanks for reading!

Tuesday Outfit + Sportsgirl Cleopatra Sandals

Hello everyone!

Today was another day at the "office" aka uni for me!  The weather in Melbourne hasn't been very Summery so I opted for something a little warmer today.

Knit - Sportsgirl; Jeans - Levis; Flats - Witchery

I borrowed the knit from my sister (one of the many advantages of having a twin sister is having double the wardrobe options!), it has cute little hearts embroidered all over it.

On my way home I popped into Sportsgirl to have a look for some Summer sandals.  I wanted something which I could wear in hot weather, but that is a little bit nicer than thongs.  I had a look in Boxing Day sales and never found anything I liked, but I saw the Ornella sandals on the Sportsgirl website last night and decided to check them out.

Image sourced from www.sportsgirl.com.au

I didn't really like the enclosed back part so I decided to try on the Cleopatra sandals instead.  I would have prefered something in black as it would probably be a more versatile colour and I wear a lot of black anyway, but I ended up getting the Cleopatra sandals in the brown colour.  I think they will look cute with some denim shorts or a pretty sundress, if Summer ever returns.  Plus they were on sale, haha!

Sportsgirl Cleopatra Sandals

Nail polish is Ulta3 Watermelon, in case anyone is wondering.  It's really hard to take nice pics of your own feet, so here is a better pic from the SG website:

Image sourced from www.sportsgirl.com.au

Thanks for reading!

My Daily Face Routine

Hi everyone,
I love reading these types of things on other people's blogs, so I thought I should have a go myself.  This really doesn't change much on a day-to-day basis, although I might add in a highlighter or a more shimmery blush if I'm going out, especially at night.

I always start my routine by moisturising.  I'm very pale so I like to use something with SPF to protect myself from the sun.  At the moment I'm using Natio's Daily Protection moisturiser which is SPF 15.  On days when I know I'll be spending a long time out in the sun, I use a 30+ sunscreen as well: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunscreen Lotion.  This gives a nice, matte, non-greasy finish but the formula is quite thick, so I usually mix in some moisturiser to make it blend more easily.

Back: Neutrogena Sunscreen, Natio Moisturiser; Front: Red Earth Primer

Top: Neutrogena Suncreen; Bottom: Natio Moisturiser, Red Earth Primer

Next step is primer, although if I wear sunscreen I don't wear primer as it can get a bit cakey if I layer too many products on.  I usually go for a silicon based primer to help absorb any oiliness throughout the day.  At the moment, I'm using the Red Earth Mattifying Makeup Base (although I think Red Earth has been discontinued from Priceline, so I'll have to try something else once this is finished).  I cut the tube open to get the remaining dregs out of it (this is a great tip for saving on beauty and skincare products and I do this for anything that comes in a tube, including hair conditioner; I can usually get an extra weeks worth of use out of them).  I usually leave around two - three minutes after applying both moisturiser and primer to allow them to soak in.

The next thing I do is colour corrector.  I tend to have very dark under eye circles, so I use yellow and/or orange corrector to correct them.  At the moment, I'm using this corrector palette, also from Red Earth.  I use the pink as a general concealer, mixed with a bit of orange to give a normal skin tone shade and the green if I have any redness from breakouts or around my nose.

Red Earth Colour Corrector Palette

Red Earth Colour Corrector - swatches

For foundation, I use a mixture of Bourjois Healthy Mix in shade 51 and NYX Liquid Foundation in shade 01.  The Bourjois foundation is a bit too sheer in terms of coverage and the shade is a bit dark and yellow toned for me.  The NYX foundation is a bit heavy, too light and too pink, so mixed together, they give quite a good match for my skin, with the amount of coverage I want.  I'm bad and normally just use my (clean) fingers to blend.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, NYX Liquid Foundation

NYX Liquid Foundation and Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation - swatches

Then I do a light dusting of loose powder to set (at the moment, I'm using Face of Australia in Outback Translucent) and a bit of blush (I'm working my way through a Maybelline Mineral Power Blush in Soft Maueve currently), concentrated on the apples of my cheeks and blended up just a little towards my temples.

Maybelline Mineral Power Blush, Face of Australia Loose Powder, The Body Shop Cream Blush

Maybelline Mineral Power Blush in Soft Mauve, Face of Australia Loose Powder in Outback Translucent

And that's it!  If I'm going out, I sometimes like to use a Body Shop cream blush in Golden Pink for a bit of a shimmery glow and maybe a bit of a highlight on my cheek bones.

The Body Shop Cream Blush in Golden Pink, unblended on the left, blended on the right

 Hope this was interesting for some of you!

Monday Outfit

Hi everyone!

Hope you all had a good weekend!  Here is what I wore to uni today:

Top - Forever New; Jeans - Levis; Shoes - Witchery; Bracelet - Etsy

I purchased the top from Forever New a few weeks ago, I love the cute bow detail.  Tops like this are great for uni as you can feel a bit girly and dressed up without looking over the top.

Forever New bow detail top

I'm about to redo my nails with Ulta3 Cocoa Bean again - love this colour so much!!

Thanks for reading!

Nike+ Sportband

Hi everyone,

As you may know, I took up running/jogging last year to help with my fitness and to lose some weight.  Recently, I purchased the Nike+ Sportband to wear running to track my speed and distance.

Nike+ Sportband

The wristband receives the information from the shoe sensor and tracks distance, speed, calories burned and time.  Throughout the run, these figures flash on the little screen. When you've finished running, the black part of the wristband detattches and you can plug it into your computer to download the information from your run (it has a USB like plug on the end).

I think I'll find this quite useful to track my progress as I'm focusing now on improving my speed and distance to hopefully work up to 5.7kms (as I am aiming to do the "Run for the Kids" fundraising fun run for the Royal Children's Hospital in mid-April).

My main criticisms are that it doesn't display heart rate (I think you have to purchase an additional accessory to display heart rate) and the pace or speed is displayed according to minutes/kilometer (i.e. how many minutes it takes you to run 1km).  I would prefer if speed were displayed as km/hour.  Also, I recommend you go to the website to find the instructions to intall the device.  It wasn't really that hard, but the instruction leaflet that comes with it is seriously worse than IKEA instructions.  There were no words, just random pictures of shoes etc.

Here is an example of what the graph looks like:

Nike+ Sportband Running Graph

I ran 4.37kms yesterday, which I am quite happy with considering I had estimated about 4km from Google Maps.  I think I have run further in the past, maybe up to 4.5-4.6km, however it was quite hot and humid yesterday, thanks to all the rain so I perhaps didn't push as hard.

As far as the shoe sensor goes, you are supposed to buy the Nike compatible shoes which have a recess in the sole to slip the sensor into.  I didn't really see the point in buying new shoes when there is nothing wrong with my current ones, so I opted to purchase a little plastic clip (on eBay) which clips the sensor to your shoelaces.

SwitchEasy RunAway Nike+ Sensor Clip

The one I purchased was called the "SwitchEasy RunAway", but I think there are a few different brands of clips available through eBay.

The Sportband is available from Rebel Sport in Australia (and Nike stores as well, I presume), however I purchased mine through eBay because none of the Rebels I tried had the pink colour, haha!  Plus it was cheaper (around AU$60 including postage).  Send me an email if you would like to know the eBay sellers that I purchased the band and/or clip from.

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: Ulta3 Earl Grey

Hi everyone!

Today I have the second installment of my new Ulta3 nail colours which I received as a gift from a lovely friend!

This is Earl Grey, a pale grey creme (two coats).  I like this as well and I don't think it looks too bad with my skin tone (I've heard some people saying that it doesn't suit some skin tones).

Ulta3 Earl Grey

And this is Ulta3 Cocoa Bean in sunlight (a better representation of the true colour).

Before I go, I just wanted to say that my thoughts are with those affected by the devestating floods in Queensland.  For those that are able and haven't already, please consider making a donation to the Premier's Flood Appeal.

Thanks for reading.

Zoo Trip

Hi everyone!

Some people voted in the poll thingy I had a while ago for me to do more posts about random/life related things so today I'm sharing some pictures of my recent trip to the zoo!  I went on the Monday after New Years Day.  In hindsight, I would not go again during school holidays - so many bratty kids (and normal behaved ones as well, haha!), but honestly there were kids throwing tantrums over the most simple things (going to the toilet, having a drink, tying a shoelace, putting on a hat/sunscreen etc).  I wonder how their parents get them to do more complex tasks, like going to the dentist or similar, if they go crazy over just having a drink of water.

Anyway, onto the animals!  I didn't get that many good pictures as it was quite crowded and we couldn't really get into a prime viewing position for a lot of the exhibits.

Gibbon - I love gibbons, they are probably my favourite monkey

Gorilla

Elephants

Giraffes

I took a heap more than this, but these are my favourites.  I didn't get a good picture of the new baby elephants as it was sleeping when we went past the elephants.  We went back later to see it in the barn though and I can assure you it is super cute!!!  We also saw the new baby orang utan (born on December 6th, less than a month old when we saw it!!!!!), I almost exploded from the cuteness!  I didn't really get any good pics though as I was photographing through the wire of the enclosure.  It was so tiny and adorable, just clinging tigtly to it's mother as she swung around the ropes and platforms of the enclosure.  The new orang utan enclosure is really nice though, much better than the old one.

Thanks for reading!