Colour Crush: Grey

Grey crush by southernstrut featuring pendants & necklaces

41 beauty hacks

                       An absolutely brilliant list of 41 beauty hacks from the good folks at Buzzfeed.

New products - Bellabox & Maybelline

I ordered my first Bellabox this month. After hearing about it and seeing it advertised to me constantly on Facebook, I decided to give it a go as the first one only cost $10 and $15 per month thereafter. I like the no pressure, cancel any time subscription, as I feel that this is something I will decide to keep or not keep depending on what I receive. 

Firstly, I have to say that I am very impressed with their service. Having recently received less than ideal delivery service from a particular fashion website, I was very happy to receive email updates from Bellabox about when my package had left the depot and when it would arrive. 

The packaging is lovely, and I'm sure I can reuse all boxes I'll be getting as gift boxes, etc. 

For this month I received: 

1. Yes To Grapefruit facial scrub and serum
2. Wen sweet almond cleansing conditioner
3. Appelles Apothecary lemon myrtle vegetable soap
4. Invisible Zinc tinted daywear cream
5. Anastasia clear eyebrow gel
6. Swisspers facial wipes

I was very happy to receive the facial wipes, as I had been meaning to buy some. 

The Yes to Grapefruit duo is excellent. The scrub smells amazing and is not too abrasive. I like the serum also, I feel that it may be helping to even out my skin, or I could just be having a good skin week. Either way, I would still strongly consider buying a full size product. 

The soap is also excellent, smells amazing. 

The Wen cleansing conditioner makes your hair smell so good (I feel like almond mint should be the next frappe flavour at Gloria Jeans) and feel lovely. I'm not sure that it's any better than what I am currently using (Tresemme and Organic Care) but I have only used it once, so will see how I go next time. I do like the size of the sample - very generous! 

I feel the Invisible Zinc is ill-timed. I know we're having a fantastically warm autumn, but I would only wear a product like that in summer, when I'm spending a lot of time outdoors. 

I plan on gifting the eyebrow gel to someone who actually has eyebrows and doesn't need to draw them on like I do. If it were tinted, I would get more use out of it. 

Overall I'm pretty happy with this month's haul. As it the point of Bellabox, I've discovered products that I like and will consider buying in store. As long as I get good value for money, I will be happy to continue my subscription. 

On another note, I have recently bought and begun using this Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner. It feels like using a finely pointed texta but has a nice semi-gloss finish like a regular liquid eyeliner. 

It dries a lot quicker than brush-and-bottle eyeliner, so I have to be a little more careful, but I also feel that I make less mistakes because I can control the brush much more easily. It holds really well (I put eye drops in and the liner didn't budge!) and doesn't flake off after being on all day. 

I paid around $13 at Priceline, and I can definitely recommend it as a good, budget option. 

What are your thoughts on Bellabox? Can you recommend some rad beauty products? 

Tunes-day

Currently on high repeat....

What are you jamming to? 

Rundle Mall AW14 parade

Last Friday, my friend Amanda and I attended one of the free Rundle Mall AW14 fashion parades, which featured clothing from David Jones, Veronika Maine, Seduce, Peter Jackson, and shoes from Wittner and Betts. 

The stand-out for me were outfits from Veronika Maine. I have never shopped there or considered it to be my style just from looking in their shop window, but I was really impressed with the mix of roll-neck, sleeveless knits; fuller, below the knee skirts; and classic winter coats. 

Afterwards, we were treated to an after party, featuring wines and cider by Sidewood (Adelaide Hills) and delicious canapés. We also scored a goodie bag each, filled with vouchers, samples and lovely gifts. 

Though I am a Summer girl at heart, I love Winter fashion and am keen to stock up on some of those cosy knits, tailored pants and long coats. 

Shoes by Betts - Dunaden and Cooper.

Loved this outfit paired with flats. 

Totally sold on this grey coat. Loved the shoes too.

Anyone is welcome to buy me this jumpsuit...

...and the gold bolero jacket...

At the after-party with Amanda, drinking Sidewood Estate Isabella Rose sparkling - delicious!

Goodies!

Rituals by Noorann Matties

I stumbled across this on Tumblr and thought it was so beautiful:

Via inconnu, by Noorann Matties.

"Investigating the unique interaction with the self that takes place when we engage in a beauty routine.

Forced to examine ourselves in ways many normally avoid, Rituals as a project sought to capture the moment in which we our lives become devoid of distraction and we become intimately aware of ourselves. By photographing people’s personal beauty rituals I attempted to capture this awareness, this intimacy that occurs only when one is forced to examine their own body, the most basic thing that is theirs, and build upon it."

Sephora in Oz

Exciting news - major beauty retailer Sephora is set to open its first store in Australia in 2015.

Sephora has more than 1400 stores across 30 countries, and stocks brands such as Make Up For Ever, Smashbox, Urban Decay, Nars and Stila.

When we were travelling overseas, my friend and I would always stop in at Sephora to discover brands we couldn't buy in Australia and marvel over the range of make-up and beauty products. As a big fan of make-up, I am very excited to be able to visit Sephora in my own country.

Sydney will most likely be home to the first Australian store.

Thanks to The Urban Silhouette for the news.

Are you excited about Australia's first Sephora store?