Monthly Archives

September 2015

Beauty

Advice: How do you know if your ready to make the chop?

September 24, 2015

mirrormirror (1 of 1)Have you always been curious about what it would be like to give your hair the chop? Maybe your not sure if your quite ready to take the plunge? Today, were going to go over some tips and advice, all about what you should know before taking the plunge.

As you may or may not know, I have been rocking short hair for about two years now. After always having long hair, chopping it off was extremely exhilarating.  Despite recently deciding to grow it into a bob, I still love the shorter lengths and probably wouldn’t go back into a longer style.

In saying that, shorter hair is not for everyone, there are so many things to consider, face shapes, hair texture…. how willing are you to styling it everyday? These are what we will covering below. So if you are curious as to what it would be like to make the chop, keep on reading…

Things to consider….

  • Face Shapes

Despite what you hear, most face shapes can actually get away with a short style, yes even if your face is round or really narrow and long. Their are so many different variations to try so don’t limit yourself too much. You can have short hair with a long side fringe to conceal a longer forehead, or if you have a square face shape, a Lob with layers around your face works really well to soften your jawline.

  • Hair Texture

Hair texture and density is one of the key factors to choosing the right style. Thicker textures can look a little bulky when cut short. To maintain it, all you need to do is make sure that your hair receives a really good thin out, keep it quite layered so you have more texture and less bulk. It’s not too hard to maintain, you just need to do this when you go in for your regular trim. Finer hair tends to look great shorter because it thickens up the ends. You no longer have the breakage that comes with long hair. When deciding if your hair texture and density will work well with a shorter style, make sure you see a professional to help you out.

  • Take it slow

If you can, I would definitely recommend going shorter in a few different haircuts. I went from Long to a Lob to a Bob and then eventually into a pixie. This allowed me to play with textures and get used to the feeling of playing with shorter locks. This also made me slightly addicted to chopping my hair. The new styles were so fun to play with and exciting new styles gave me a little confidence boost every chop.

  • Styling. Be prepared. Short hair does not mean Low maintenance.

There’s this massive misconception that short hair is low maintenance. This is unfortunately not the case. Short styles require styling everyday. It’s not like long hair, where you can just simply tie it up into a top knot or a pony. Short hair is stronger, and the length no longer weighs it down. So be prepared to style your hair almost daily!

  • Have an open mind

Create a Pinterest board where you have at least 5 different styles that you are open too. Take them into your stylist and work out together which one will work best for you. Don’t get too connected to one particular style because it may not suit your face shape or your hair texture might not be right for that particular look. Have an open mind.

  • Choose your hairdresser wisely.

You have no idea how many hairdressers there are that have absolutely no idea what their doing.. It’s really important you do your homework and find a stylist you trust. Not only will your stylist be able to pick the best look for you, they will set you up with a good home care regimen and teach you how to style your hair at home. If your in the Auckland area I have listed my recommendations for you below.

I hope these tips have helped you to make your decision! If you have any other questions for me, please let me know below! As good as it is to take risks, you need to be confident in your choice!

 

Recommendations:

Michaela: Blaze

Price Scale: $89-$105

Location: New Market.

Michaela is a short hair super star. She also creates the most beautiful pastel tones if that’s your thing. This gorgeous lady is behind the pastel pink tones of Ruby Frost.

Marama: Marilyns

Audrey: Marilyns

Location: Remuera.

Price Scale: $110

Marama cut my hair a few months ago, she turned my over grown mullet (growing out problems) into a cute little bob. She creates beautiful soft cuts and is a total perfectionist.

Audrey cut my hair for most of the time that I was working at Marilyn’s (about 5 years) So together we have done a range of different fun styles. Audrey always adds something unique to a haircut and always keeps it interesting.

So are you ready?

 

 

LIFE Real Talk

The truth about counting calories.

September 19, 2015

These days on social media, you are highly praised for having a size zero waist. The amount of pressure on you is higher than ever before and it can be a daunting feeling. This is why I decided to share how the social media pressure has affected me, and how much damage it could be doing to you or someone else you know.

About two years ago, before I started my blog I dropped around 10kgs. It was something that started out as me wanting to eat healthy and take care of my body which I eventually let turn into a disorder, filled with sleepless nights and anxiety problems. Something I didn’t think would ever happen to me. Before this all happened, I had been happy with my body, there was no major self esteem issues and I was quite confident with how I looked.

It was when I started to meet lots of models and started getting a few modelling gigs myself that I decided I needed to start taking care of myself a little more. Just to make this clear, no one said this to me, I came up with it myself. So I downloaded the “myfitnesspal” app. This is an app where you track your calories for the day, set yourself goals and track your weight loss over the time that you started. I just thought it would be a good way for me to only eat what I needed, instead of over eating which is something I tend to do… I am a massive foodie. I love really good quality food!

Somewhere in those few months, I started to really rely on the number of calories I was allowed. To the point that when I was eating something I wouldn’t enjoy it, I would just think to myself “okay cool that’s only 100 calories so I have 500 left for dinner but I’ll try to not eat all of them” or “I am so freaking hungry, but if I eat right now, I’ll be over my goal.. I’ll just have a glass of water and hope it goes away” People started to point out my weight. Complaining that I had gotten too thin. P.s I know you were tying to help, but this doesn’t help, this just made me feel worse. I was in denial because I strongly believed that this was not a disorder, I just thought I was being healthy. The fact that I was still eating led me to believe that I was fine. But I wasn’t. Not really.

On days where I ate over my goal I wouldn’t sleep all night because I just thought about how big I was going to get. It’s like the scariest thing that could ever happen to me was get fat. Anxiety kicked in. If you know me, you’d know that I am the most chill person ever. Anxiety and I had never really met before… How did I let it get this bad??

What happened was I stopped looking at how I looked in the mirror and instead I focussed on the number on the scale. When I finally hit 57kgs (which I suppose sounds ridiculous to you all but I am really tall. The “normal” weight for my height is 70kgs (according to the docs) I decided that this was a good weight for me and to be honest I was so sick of people complaining about how I looked. I knew I had gone too far and I decided I would start to just try and maintain the weight I was on.

While I was “maintaining” my weight, I started to relax my thinking about it. I still had a few sleepless nights here and there about how I was letting the ball drop and how fat I was going to get. Eventually over time, I got sick of it. I got sick of the app, I got sick of being so hard on myself and I was tired of noting down every single thing I ate! I decided to delete it off my phone. The next month or so, I downloaded and deleted it off my phone multiple times. Because I had been doing this for so long, I still wanted to be really skinny but I didn’t want all the issues that it came with.

I deleted it for the final time and I started to gain some weight. I’m really grateful no one mentioned my weight gain when I slowly started gaining it back, even though I could tell they noticed, they knew not to talk about it by this point. I was still in a really weird state of mind. It has been such a “off limits” topic for me, again if you know me.. I talk about ANYTHING. I decided to share this with you all because it turned me into such a different person while it was happening. I had no idea how cloudy my brain had become, and how obsessed I had become with being tiny.

These days, I’m back to my old self. I’m at a healthy weight and I feel good. I’m no way near perfect, I have a sugar addiction and I over eat dinner sometimes but I’m really okay with this. I know I’m really lucky to be so comfortable with myself. I know that a lot of other girls struggle much worse than I but the fact that this did affect me the way that it did just proves that it really can happen to anyone.

Even though, I preferred not to discuss it with anyone until now, I know that talking about it could have made the situation so much better. It’s awkward and uncomfortable at first but once you do, it’s like a massive weight has lifted off your shoulders.

LIFE

Wine Tasting On Waiheke

September 15, 2015

IMG_8573A beautiful Monday spent wine tasting on Waiheke Island..

IMG_8428On our way! (My new haircut, courtesy of the Wella Trend Vision Show I did on the weekend, will have photo’s soon I hope!)

After spending the last two very long days prepping for the Wella Trend Vision Show, taking some time out on Monday was exactly what I needed. If you have never done a wine tasting tour before, then you need to get onto it! It’s the perfect way to find out which wineries you like, meet some new people and you can learn a thing or two along the way. We did find the tour was a little rushed though. Apart from our lunch at Stoneyridge we only had around 30 minutes per winery and we really needed longer to soak up the atmosphere.

We visited three wineries and a olive estate throughout the day. My favourite was hands down the last winery we went too, the Mudbrick Vineyard, where we actually ended up staying afterwards. Finishing the day off with food and wine and an amazing view. If I had to recommend one to visit, it would definitely be the Mudbrick. We ordered the platter for two because we weren’t overly hungry, turns out the platter they bought out was huge, but of course we managed to eat it all! We were all really impressed with our platter and of course our wine, (which was the Pinot Gris by the way)

Every Monday should be spent like this….

 

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Our amazing view from lunch at Stoneyridge

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Our amazing lunch! A spinach and feta quiche with salad and of course- topped with Olive oil

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Beer tasting at Wild on Waiheke

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Our platter for “two”

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These pictures were taken at the gorgeous Mudbrick Vineyard. Couldn’t have had a better finish to our day <3

Beauty

5 Make up Hacks for Lazy Girls

September 11, 2015

Okay girls you know the drill, wake up at 6 am, eat breakfast (if were lucky) Throw on some make up and then theirs the effort of deciding what to wear…. Every morning starts to feel like a massive chore, we have so many steps just to look “decent” for the day. Some days I think being a man would be easier, just get up and go! Literally. Then I remember that being a girl is actually pretty bad ass and I forget I ever thought that…. I mean we get boobs and make up so we win. Being a 20 something year old girl who has worn make up for over half my life has taught me some pretty sweet hacks to make those dreaded mornings a little easier. So today I share my hacks with you, my fellow lazy girls who just want a simpler morning.

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When your foundation is too dark

Pale girls have a rough time finding a good foundation that doesn’t cost the earth. I recently decided to try out Maybelline Better Skin foundation in Ivory…. Only to find that this color is no way near what I would call Ivory, it makes my skin quite orange. Aside from this, I really like the foundation, it lasts all day and it actually does make the appearance of my skin a lot of more even in tone. I’m quite impressed…. Except of course for the color. So I tried mixing in my day time moisturizer and the color is perfect! The coverage is a little lighter but that’s fine with me, I usually add concealer over top anyway. So girls, if you have a color that’s too dark, don’t waste the bottle, just mix in your moisturizer!

mascara

When you fall in love with a mascara, but your bank balance is always getting in the way.

In my recent post about eyelashes I briefly talked about this. Mascara is pretty much all the same stuff, weather it’s Lancome or Maybelline. So if you do happen to buy a really expensive mascara and fall in love with it- Keep the brush and re use it for your cheaper mascaras. The wand is what makes all the difference!

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When you run out of your favorite nude lipstick

I really like this little hack I found on the good ol’ internet! It’s so perfect if you have run out of your fave nude lippy or even if you want to play around with different shades (it’s so hard to find a good nude lipstick) All you need is Lip balm, bronzer, blush and a liquid concealer. Just apply your lip balm as usual, then line your lips with the bronzer using a lip brush, dab some blush in the center to add some color and if you want the color to stand out a little more just add a tiny bit of concealer over top (again, just dab on lightly with your fingers) Topping up is a little hard, I usually just carry my lip balm and if I can be bothered I’ll carry my blush with me too.

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White Eyeliner for tired eyes

This is my favorite product right now! White eyeliner is BOSS. Hide your tired eyes with a white eyeliner to really open up your eyes and make your eyes really pop. It really works wonders.

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Fuller Lips for a killer pout

Plumping lip scrubs are best to prep and plump your lips with, but if you want them to look even fuller, use a light pencil (another place where your white eyeliner comes in handy) in the center of lips before blending out and applying gloss over top. This gives the illusion that the center is much fuller than it actually is. Now, move over Kylie Jenner!

 

Features

#WCW

September 9, 2015

wcw bonbon girlsMy Woman Crush Wednesday…… The three ladies you should be stalking.

 

Tara Milk Tea

Adorable illustrator and foodie, Tara is one of my newest girl crushes. I mean look at her! What a cutie!! Not only is she adorable but she is really talented, I just love these little drawings she puts together for her blog posts. Check out her Instagram for hours of inspiration.

Tara

 

Rachael Brook

Rachael is a sassy make up artist from Australia who creates you tube tutorials, but her 15 second Instagram vids are what initially got me hooked. She is super entertaining with a undeniable love for hip hop. Got to love this girl, and that highlight….

rachaelbrook

 

Sjana Elise 

Talented yogi and photojournalist, Sjana is the one girl everyone wants to know. Her Instagram is famously known for her extraordinary yoga poses in some of the very best locations, worldwide. This girl could possibly have the very best job in the world and lets be honest- she’s a total babe 😉

 

sjanaelise

 

 

 

Beauty

Honest Skincare Review and Special Offer for Readers!

September 8, 2015

 

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Keeping your skin as cleansed and hydrated as possible…

Honest Skincare is a 100% edible, natural and mostly vegan range made right here in New Zealand! (The only product that doesn’t come under the Vegan Umbrella is the Lip Balm which contains Beeswax) A super food for your skin  with no chemicals and no added fragrances. Honest packages all their delightful products in glass to prevent any leaching of nasty BPA’s and to be quite frank, that just makes the packaging that much more adorable! I had just discovered Honest Skin Care a month or so ago, and I have been busy trialing the Serum and the Body butter (It’s a tough life but someone’s got to do it…)

SERUM ($24)

I have been using the serum just before bed on my face because I want all those essential oils to really soak up into my skin overnight. This serum makes my skin feel really refreshed in the morning, and I even thought the appearance was a lot more even and supple. For those that know me, know that I have issues with scarring so waking up and feeling good about my skin is always a really nice surprise. The fact that their are no added fragrances is even better, you know that you are using a truly natural product when the smell is non- existent. I will definitely be adding this serum to my routine.

BODY BUTTER ($28)

The body butter is very light and fluffy. I actually really like the texture and it makes my skin feel so hydrated. The perfect winter skin remedy :) It’s not overally oily like a lot of natural products either, there is definitely some coconut oil in there because you know, coconut oil  does

SPECIAL OFFER

I do have a really special offer for anyone that does want to try out Honest Skincare. If you purchase the body butter or the serum you will also be sent a free lip balm in either Vanilla Chai or Almond Espresso. To redeem, all you need to do is head over to the Honest Skincare website www.honestskincare.co.nz and put one Body Butter or one Serum in your cart along with one Lip Balm. Enter the code BONBALM at the checkout to receive the $12 lip balm value discount off the total purchase price! Easy Peasy and 2 amazing products for less than $30! Offer ends 30/09/2015

I hope you guys check this amazing product out, it’s actually such a great gift idea too, who doesn’t want a all natural skincare range topped off with the sweetest packaging out?

A x

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Beauty

How I achieve longer looking lashes

September 4, 2015

falsiesIn the last month or so- I have been getting quite a few comments on my lashes (with falsies on and without) My lashes aren’t very long naturally, so this has been a great little confidence booster for me. I have always loved long lashes and tried my best to achieve them. So after receiving tons of comments on them I thought I should do a quick post on my morning routine and how I try to make my lashes stand out.

I haven’t used Revitalash or anything like that yet, because my eyes can be a little sensitive and I’m a little worried they will react to the product? The results I have seen from it on other people are incredible however, so I am quite tempted.

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White Liner

My little life saver. I am so in love with white eyeliner! It makes your eyes appear bigger and I feel like it just wakens up your whole face. White liner is such a game changer. I use it everyday. Light, bright eyes will really highlight your thick black lashes. Apply the white eyeliner on your bottom waterline and in the inner corner to really brighten up your entire eye before applying your mascara etc.

Excuse the towel on my head, I was just having a waay better eyelash day

Excuse the towel on my head, I was just having a waay better eyelash day

Apply your mascara from multiple angles

I probably spend a little bit longer now than I ever have before just applying my mascara. I try to apply it to every eyelash. After I have done my first “basic” application, I’ll change up the angle of the brush to make sure I can apply to the smaller lashes without making a mess. I usually make a mess anyway, but it’s easy to fix up. Just wait for the mascara to dry, then grab a cotton bud and dab it off, super easy! I also apply to the top the with my eye half open so that I can apply to the back and the front (if that makes sense) It just makes your lashes look way longer, if you can apply mascara to the very root of your lash.

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Wear two mascara’s

I don’t do this every morning, but if I have a mascara and it’s just not doing what I want it too, I’ll definitely apply two. Sometimes one is good for length and the other volume, so they just help each other out. You have to do this quickly. You don’t want to apply extra mascara if the mascara you have got on has already dried, just to avoid too much clumpiness. Also, I’m super fussy with my mascara’s I hate mascara that applies black and nothing else. Ugh… give me length baby. My favourite mascara at the moment is 100% the Avon super extend Infinitize Mascara. I actually ran out of it recently, so instead of throwing it out- I kept the bottle and I just dip the brush into my new mascara which I’m not that fond of and it works just as well! I can’t remember where I learnt this tip from but it’s amazing! The truth is, all mascara is the same it’s the brushes that make all the difference.

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Falsies baby

My favourite False Lashes are by Ardell. They are made from human hair (cringe?) but they feel so light and look pretty natural too. If I’m going for a more dramatic look, I’ll actually just buy some cheap lashes from the $2 shop- They are all made from the same thing and then I’ll just use my normal glue (the cheap lash glue does not work! I have learnt this by unfortunate experiences) Invest in some Ardell Lash glue, its super affordable and lasts forever! I have had mine for a year now.

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Add a wing

If in doubt, add a wing! I think a small wing can totally make your lashes stand out more and just add a little more drama of your lashes. Make sure you apply  your white eyeliner as well, I swear by it! Again, I don’t do a wing every day just when I feel like it. I used to do EVERY day, but I can’t really be bothered anymore so now when I do it, it’s just a nice change.

 

Hope this helps! I’m no way near a make up artist this is just some basic tips that I use every day :) If you have any tips for me, or think that Revitalash is the way to go, leave me a comment below xx