My First Blog Giveaway

LIFE

My First Blog Giveaway

July 30, 2015

Mooooooorning, Good afternoon or Good night….wherever you may be reading this from!) I only just found out I have quite a few readers in the United States which is so amazing!…… Well, it’s 10am this Friday and I have only just woke up! Haha I do like a good sleep in… So today I’m doing something a teeny bit different on my blog. As some of you know, I reached 3000 Instagram followers last weekend! That’s super exciting for me! To know that I have that many people backing me on the gram is very cool! So I wanted to say a huge thank you, by hosting a giveaway! By entering you can win one Grounded Coconut- Coffee Scrub, a very cute double pearl ring by ASOS and a Lush bath bomb! That sounds pretty heavenly to me, right?!

If your not on Instagram, I’m going to allow you guys to enter on Facebook too! If your entering on Facebook, all you need to do is share this post onto your Facebook page, make sure you guys have liked my page too, if you haven’t already Also, if you could comment on this post below to let me know you have done this? This is important, otherwise I won’t know who has entered! (also… make sure your Facebook post is to set to public so I can see it!)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot- this competition is open worldwide! So get entering!

P.s I haven’t done any fashion posts in FOREVER! I’ll be doing some more soon… I actually really miss doing them. Could you guys also do me a HUGE favour, can you tell me what type of posts you like me doing? Fashion, beauty, lifestyle?? What’s your favourite? I know lots of you loved my post, so maybe some more similar ones to that? Hmmm…..Please let me know!

Don’t worry, this isn’t the one I’m giving away!

The perfect bath time essentials!

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#GIRLBOSS LIFE

5 Ways to Get Motivated

July 29, 2015

You put your heart and soul into something and for what?

If your not seeing the results you want straight away, it’s easy to lack motivation- you might even move onto the next thing altogether, but if you’re truly striving for something, sometimes all it takes is re-evaluation.

Are you spending your time the best way you could be? Should you be doing something a little differently to make things move a little faster? Something I have learnt is to treat your time like money. Spend it wisely and only where it’s beneficial to you. (I’m not saying give up your social life, but learn how to prioritise!)

The world has changed, and we are no longer waiting to be handed a golden ticket on the path to success. It takes a lot of determination and motivation. The possibilities are endless with how your story could go, so stop waiting and get shit done!

Never Stop Learning

Talk to people who inspire you and learn everything you can off them. The people you are spending your time with have a huge impact on you, so keep like-minded people around you all the time. People that are successful (in whatever it is that they do) are smart and it’s no coincidence. They are learning everyday and have huge passion. Try to set some time aside every single day to learn something new. Listening to podcasts in the car is a great way to do it on the go.

Write down a list of things you want to achieve that day

If your anything like me and you get distracted easily, this is the best way to keep yourself on track. If you write down a checklist for the day, it helps to make a little more sense of things. If you find yourself getting distracted, at least having a checklist close by will remind you to get back on track. Each time you check something off, you feel a sense of accomplishment.

Take regular breaks

When your working, you should be taking 15 minute breaks every few hours. Take some time out to have something to eat or just to break away from what your doing for a minute. Getting outside is my personal favourite, even if it is just for 15. When you get back to work, you’ll feel more alert and motivated to carry on with what you are doing.

Work in a tidy space, and preferably a desk (not your bed)

If your in a position to work from your bed, that’s pretty badass so go you! Unfortunately it’s also a little distracting. I work from my bed a lot but find that I always end up watching YouTube or looking at Facebook etc. When your up and working at a desk, your going to feel a lot more motivated. Working at a desk just puts you in “work” mode, so your naturally going to get more done. Keeping the space around you tidy also helps.

Stop working after 5

If you make it a rule that you can’t work on something after a certain time, your going to be a little more motivated to get shit done by your finish time. Separate your work life from your home life. I know that when Richard gets home, I want to spend time with him, It’s also really important to be relaxed and refreshed for the next day so you can aim to get a whole lot more done.

How do you like to keep motivated? Let me know below and make sure to follow me over on or for more updates xx

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Beauty

Empties

July 27, 2015

I had quite a lot of fun reviewing my last products post, so I thought I would do another one, but this time I have actually finished the whole tub/ bottle.. Now I have used each cleanser/oil for a good few months as opposed to a week or two. This allows me to give you guys a more thorough review and gives me a better idea of how well the product lasts too. So, this is the Skincare Version of “Empties” It’s actually mainly cleansers! I haven’t done many moisturizers actually, maybe I’ll work on that one soon….? I suppose I have written quite a lot, so don’t feel like you have to read the whole lot! Just the ones you are interested in! Enjoy! P.s I have only just realised I use a LOT of Oils….

1. Lush Angels On Bare Skin

Last time I reviewed Angels on Bare Skin I had only been using it for a week or so. Now that I have finished the tub I thought I should do a updated review. Would I buy it again? Yes! But…. I would only use this alternating with another cleanser. A more “nourishing” cleanser that is. Angels on bare skin is great, but it’s extremely scrubby, therefore a little drying. Even though I have oily skin, it dries out quite easily, the graininess was getting a little irritating too because initially I was using it everyday. When I started alternating with another cleanser, it was so much nicer to use! After finishing a tub of this cleanser, my skin does feel a little clearer and it definitely felt super cleansed straight after using it too, but I would only use it every second or third day.

2. Lush Ultrabland

Ultrabland is my “night cleanser” because it’s great for getting off make up and leaving my skin nourished for overnight. I prefer using something a little more cleansing in the morning, so I avoided Ultrabland in the AM. I also just really love using balms and oils for taking off my make up at the end of the day. If you have oily skin like me, and you have trouble with keeping oils at bay, then oil cleansers are actually great for reducing the excess oils. I know it does sound strange, but as someone who has oily skin I can honestly vouch for this. I have been using oils as cleansers on my skin for about two years now, and I promise you it works. Ultrabland is one of my most favourite cleansers ever. Such a lovely balm to cleanse with, so so nourishing and not overally perfumed (I can’t stand cleansers that are highly perfumed) The reason I cleanse is to wash my face from all the make up and dirt that it gathers up throughout the day, so why would I want to put more perfumes and chemicals on my face? No, when it comes to cleansing, the more natural the better. That’s why I love Ultrabland. After a light rinse with warm water, I’ll saturate a face cloth with hot water and steam my face with it to get rid of any excess (I usually do this twice just to make sure it’s all off) Voila, go to sleep with creamy, nourished and cleansed skin, no need for moisturizer.

3. M.A.C Cleanse Off Oil

I do like this oil but if I’m being honest I would much rather use a coconut oil for removing my make up. M.A.C cleanse off oil does what it says it will, it takes off your make up, and it takes if off well, but why would you buy this when you can buy a coconut oil for less then half the price? Also coconut oils will take your make up off just as easy, if not easier and it’s so much better for your skin too. This is just my opinion. Take it if you wish, or don’t, that’s totally cool too. P.s if you are wanting to try coconut oils for your face, let me know and I’ll link some great websites below!

4.Trilogy Rosehip Oil

Clearly I wasn’t expecting to be taking photo’s of these bottles, but hey, at least you know I have legitimately used them! I use a rosehip oil at night time, that is if I haven’t used a oil based cleanser. It’s extremely repairing and is really high in antioxidants, as you can see from the bottle, kinda…if you look past all the scratches… As someone who has quite a few pigmented scars, I can honestly say, since using this, they are much less noticeable. The elasticity in my skin is much firmer when I use this also, so double points for rosehip oil! I recommend you all try this oil, I would say it’s pretty good on all skin types and you just put a few drops on at night time and let it do it’s thing while you sleep.

5. SkinFood is so great! Why? Well it’s made in New Zealand, it’s affordable and you can find it in your local supermarket. So if you have run out of cleanser, this baby will no doubt be really easy to find while your doing your food shopping. I like this cleanser, it’s great quality, smells good and the texture is nice too. Not overally creamy, just nice and light. My only issue with it, is it doesn’t remove all my make up as well as I hoped it would. If you don’t wear a lot of make up I’m sure it’ll remove your make up easily. I wear quite a lot of eye make up so it can be struggle to remove. I’ll usually cleanse twice anyway at night time so if I’m using just this- without a make up remover, I’ll go for three cleanses! Not ideal, but whatever does the job hey!

So I hope you guys enjoyed this post! I thought doing empties was a great idea so you guys can see I legitimately have used all these products (and not just a couple of times) and I have given my honest feedback on all items! I’ll be doing a make up version in about a month or so if you guys did enjoy this one. So if you liked it, let me know in the comments below and I’ll get working on my make up empties post!!

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Beauty

Viktor&Rolf just get me.

July 23, 2015

flowerbomb-bonbon-girls-perfume-favourites (1 of 1)

Excuse the scratches, bottle has had a hard life

When I was 19 years old, I was studying full time and I worked one day a week at the supermarket. I was earning around $100 a week (and living away from home) In other words. I was dirt broke. During my lunch breaks, I would often walk up to the top of Queen St just to walk into Smith and Caughey’s and check out their display of the Viktor & Rolf perfume I so desperately wanted. Flowerbomb, the dreamy floral scent, that I could no way near afford….and yes of course I sprayed the tester all over myself, despite the snobby sales girls rolling their eyes.

That Christmas, I was gifted the perfume by my momma. Oh she is a good woman…. Six years on and I am still wearing Flowerbomb, I guess old habits die hard.

These days she does have a little competition, the perfume that is, not my momma…… after I discovered Viktor & Rolf were bringing out a new perfume called Bonbon, I had to have it. Yes, just because of the name! When I received it as a gift last year I was way too excited to wear it! Although, I did initially think I wouldn’t like it as much as my beloved favourite… I obviously had tried it on in the store, but when your wearing a perfume daily, your opinions change of the scent. Now I think Bonbon might just be better than Flowerbomb? Loads of girls would kill me for saying that I’m sure! Bonbon is a very sweet caramel explosion delivered in a candy pink bow. I wear it almost daily until I find the next thing to come along that is.

So are you team Bonbon or Flowerbomb? Or are you not into either? They have one thing in common and that is that they are very sweet. You may have figured by now, I have a massive love for overly sweet smells.

Well, in my opinion, Viktor & Rolf can definitely do one thing right, and that’s make dreamy scents that make girls go gaga everywhere.

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How to: LIFE

July 20, 2015

Finding your Instagram niche can take a while, but once you find it, it’s important to stick to it.

Everyone has their own opinion of what makes an account beautiful, my favourite accounts vary from monotone and minimal to crazy kawaii accounts with loads of colour and sparkle.

My own personal feed is quite different to the ones I adore. I like my feed filled with fashion posts, pastels and some scenic pictures in the mix too. It suits my style and my personality. I can be a bit of a fuss pot when it comes to what I have posted on my account.

These are my top tips for Instagram, from the apps that I use to colour choice and theme’s.

1. TAKING THE BEST POSSIBLE PHOTO’S

Don’t have a DSLR? That’s cool, the iPhone camera can take some amazing photo’s as long as you have the right lighting. One thing I have learnt the hard way, is it is all about lighting! Most of my Instagram images are taken with my DSLR but I like to break it up with some iPhone images too. If your taking photo’s outdoors, the best time of day is definitely sunset or “golden hour” (usually around 4-5 pm) The lighting is so pretty and most of the time you won’t need to edit them a lot because images tend to look warmer, brighter and have a more “finished” look.

Unedited image, taken at sunset. The image looks warm and doesn’t need a lot of editing.

This was also taken at sunset, but the light had shifted a little. Still beautiful lighting, I really like the golden shimmer and the reflection on the water

2. EDITING APPS

I like to edit my photo’s even if they already look amazing. It’s just fun to play around with them and bring put the colours even more. My favorite editing apps rotate, but the two that I will never get rid of would be Photoshop Express and Aillis. Two quite different apps which I use for different things. I love Photoshop Express because I can adjust the noise in a photo. If you do take a photo in bad lighting, this app could actually save it, just by the “reduce noise” feature. Sure it’s better to get the lighting right in the first place but sometimes you don’t have much of a choice. This is my favorite feature on the app. After I have done that I will always punch the color out and brighten it up. I typically like bright photo’s with high color saturation, so Photoshop express is my go to.

Aillis, is my “beauty” app. It does it ALL. Brightening, skin clearing and color correction. If you want to go crazy- you can actually make your eyes bigger and face slimmer. It can get a little weird, but as long as you don’t go too crazy on it, it’s a great editor. You don’t want to go to overboard on the beauty apps, you start to look like a painting or a cartoon. It eventually becomes too artificial.

Going a little too crazy on Aillis, I played around with enlarging my lips and eyes and I look almost alien like. Fun to play with but definitely not realistic!

3. THEME

Sticking to a theme can be hard work. I struggle to stay within a theme because I like so many different types of images, plus I get a little bored overly themed accounts. I tend to just stick with girly colours and a girly aesthetic overall. This just gives me a lot more to play around with and allows my feed to demonstrate my personality. Your theme could be just as simple as a colour that reappears in your posts.

With my “theme” I like to break up my images by posting one photo of me (or someone else),then either a scenic pic or a photo of my new shoes or bag etc. This stops me from going too crazy with the fashion posts and not only keeps it more interesting, it reminds me to post with a little more variation. As you can see I tend to use a lot of pastel tones.

Some more examples of some great themed accounts that I follow,

account is a great example of beautiful lighting, well composed images and subtle glimpses into her life. I love the neutral tone of her feed and the compelling angles.

account is a pastel dream that perfectly matches her hair. The consistency in her images has kept me hooked, and the colours used in her feed are all perfectly in sync.

I’m sure most of you have heard of . The theme of their account is the perfect example of breaking up textures and using monotones’ to their benefit. Beautiful and simplistic images, that create a well thought out account. Meadowlark have their Instagram theme down pat.

likes to have a lot of colour and florals on her account. I love the high saturation in her photo’s. Her account is the type that makes me happy to look at, every image is a whimsical story.

4. PLAYING WITH LAYOUTS

I’m not normally one for the mirrored look but at the same time I will never post an image to my Instagram unless it is square. Unfortunately, not all of my photo’s will fit into that perfect square box because of the narrowness of the image. So if I’m working with a portrait image and I’m unwilling to crop it, here is a little trick I tend to use. Using the app picsart, I will choose “Draw, then choose blank, then the size 2048 x 2048” This gives me a blank square image. I then pick 3 of the same photo to add to the blank background. Adjust the size accordingly and drag one photo to the left, then one to the right. Use the third image in the centre, and the back works as a well disguised background. I’ve done it really obvious for my example, but you can make it a lot more subtle.

So it all comes down to lighting, finding your theme, editing and placement. I hope you have taken something away from this post to help pick up your Instagram game and if I have missed anything out, leave me a comment below and I will try add it in to the post at some point! Happy snapping!

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FASHION

Paper Towns Preview

July 15, 2015

On Sunday, I was invited to the preview of John Greens’ latest “book turned movie” Paper Towns. Being a huge TFIOS fan, I accepted straight away! Okay? Okay 😉

So this was the look I decided to go for. Just a really simple mixture of black, nudes and white. Just keeping it super simple and casual, but also really put together.

I think I will still have this leather jacket when I am 60. It is by far my favorite. The leather is just so soft and comfortable and the cut is just amazing. If I could have one jacket for the rest of my life. This is that jacket. It’s probably the only jacket I will ever own by Karl Lagerfeld and every time I wear it, I receive a million compliments over it. A sure classic, that will forever remain in my wardrobe.

My bag is by the wonderful Steve Madden. It’s probably the perfect size. I’ve decided that massive bags just can’t be for me anymore. Not for an everyday basis anyway. If I have an over-sized bag, I always end up overfilling it with things I don’t ever need and then I end up hurting my shoulder from lugging it around all day. This size is perfect. You can only fit in what you actually need. This is going to be a hard lesson to learn… but definitely one that needs to be learnt, by not just myself, but a lot of us woman!

Okay, so lets talk the movie.

Paper Towns, is a cute, preppy movie starring Cara Delevigne. This intrigued me actually, I hadn’t seen her in any other movies so it was interesting to see her go from model to actress. I have to say, I look at her so differently now. In a good way. She can definitely act, and her role in the film was actually quite believable as to what she would be like in reality. I hadn’t read the book beforehand, so I was unsure as to what to expect. Knowing John Greens’ typical style, I was expecting to be a little heart broken at the end. I’m not going to give away anything I promise. You will have to check it out yourself.

If I’m being completely honest, this movie was a slight let down in comparison to The Fault in our Stars, but I’m totally bias. All in all, it was a cute movie with some valuable lessons, like remembering to enjoy what is right in front you. Enjoy the moments you are having now. Stop waiting to be “happy” later on in life.

P.S Remember to follow me on xx

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Features

Features/ 2 Many Bloggers

July 10, 2015

Today’s Friday Feature is by one of my favourite Instagram accounts, . What can I say, I’m totally hooked. Her photos and style are the perfect blend of minimalization and pretty pastel tones. I knew I just had to feature her when I found her account. If her style gets you going, make sure you give her a follow and check out the rest of her flawless feed!

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LIFE

8 Tips to Feeling Better about Yourself

July 8, 2015

We all have days where we aren’t feeling our best. Especially, during these cold months, the lack of vitamin D doesn’t really work in our favour! I have listed below a few tips I find helpful to perking me up when I’m not feeling 100%

If your not feeling your best, I urge you to try one or two!

1. Listen to your favourite album. LOUD. Preferably one that comes with some good memories and one that you can dance along too in your PJ’s!

2. Big cups of tea, while watching your favourite show on the couch. I like watching something that’ll make me laugh. ( 2 Broke girls will normally do the trick!)

3. Do something you love. I really like pulling out my big notepad and writing or doodling, I can do it for hours. it’s so therapeutic. It’s also really nice to write, when your away from the computer, to really get back to what you love!

4. Get outdoors! Fresh air can do the world of difference. Even just having your lunch outside can awaken your senses.

5. Wear your favourite outfit. How we look, changes our attitude about ourselves dramatically

6. Eat lots of healthy food. Nothing brings your spirits down more if you’ve eaten a lot of sugary or greasy foods. Try getting a little more creative with healthy foods too. Julia and Libby have some of the best recipes to try!

7. Try applying your makeup differently. Every now and then, I’ll sit down with all of my make up and my Ipad and watch Shaaanxo. I’ll try follow along and see how I go. Trying new tricks can get you out of your boring routine and can make you feel more revived.

8. Take a moment. Remember to acknowledge how far you have come! Look around you, remember what you started with? We all lose our sense of self worth, especially when something goes wrong. the truth is, you are doing so much better then you think you are!

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Features

Features/ Anna Higgins

July 3, 2015

If your not already following her on Instagram, then what are you even doing with your life? Kidding (kind of!) Anna Higgins creates the cutest and quirkiest illustrations that promote girl power and engage with your inner sassy self.

I can’t help but adore them!

For more sass, check her out on or

You’ll thank me later x

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My Work

Kenzie

July 1, 2015

KENZIE

This stunning little pixie is Kenzie from Unique Model Management.

I have been wanting to work with Kenzie for a little while now, so I’m glad the opportunity finally came up! She is definitely one of the sweetest girl’s I have met and a total dream to work with.

Images were shot by James, and I styled. I styled using a mixture of my clothes and Kenzie brought some of her own things along too. We have very similar taste in clothes, so that helped a lot! This was just a really chill shoot. We did a little bit of wandering around town, after were kicked out of the first car-park that we wanted to shoot at. Apparently, you can’t just set up a mini studio anywhere you want! Haha. Luckily Auckland has lots of nice abstract areas to work with and our shots turned out beautifully!

CREDITS

Photos: James Yang

Model: Kenzie

Styling: Me

Mua: Kaz from Ali’s Make up station

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July 2015