De-stress beauty

There's always one thing I turn to when trying to de-stress and that's candles, long hot showers and great smelling body products. There's something about a hot bath and the smell and sight of candles that has a wonderful relaxing effect on the body so I think finding the perfect scents are important when trying to relax or calm down after a stressful day. 

When it comes to all things body and candle related I always find myself picking out products which have either 'Bakery Smells' like caramel or I will pick up Berry scented ones. These are my two favourite types of scents so it makes sense that they would calm me down more than any others, which is important when trying to relax. There's no point running a long bath and subjecting yourself to a smell you don't really love which isn't going to relax you. 

I'll start with candles. I recently picked myself up a new Glasshouse candle from Peter Alexander and believe me when I tell you, you will never want to light another candle in your life after smelling this. This candle is in the scent 'Chicago Fudge Brownie'. Just let that sink in, a candle that smells just like a fudge brownie... could you think of anything better? This candle is so true to it's scent I absolutely love it! It has two wicks and has a long lasting scent long after the candle has been put out and can also give your room a pleasant smell just with the lid off unlit.

Before purchasing the Chicago Glasshouse candle, I was using the Woodwick trilogy candle in 'Cafe Sweets'. This candle has long been a favorite of mine as it comes with three different scents all with my favorite bakery scents: Vanilla bean, caramel and biscotti. Woodwick candles are definitely helpful for creating a relaxed atmosphere as the wick creates a crackle sound when being burned.

For hot showers or baths I recommend the Philosophy bath and shower range. I picked up this trio during the Boxing Day sales and have fallen in love. I have been wanting to try the Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake shower gel for so long now and I have finally got my hand on it! The smell is absolutely incredible and again so true to what the name suggests. All three of these mini sized shower gels also double as shampoo and bubble bath, and of course smell delicious. At the moment I am using the shower gel in the scent Raspberry Sorbet which is super thick and creamy with a fresh berry scent that I can still smell on my skin afterwards which is always a bonus. There's nothing worse than finding  great smelling product that smells great in the shower but completely disappears once your done.  What I also love about these shower gels is that they include a little recipe for each one, which I think is a very cute and unique idea.

How do you de-stress after a long day or stressful week? Let me know which beauty products are your go to for a perfect relaxing night.

Katie

You can also find me on Instagram and Twitter.

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But first coffee..

Have you ever read that quote "There's nothing more comfortable than sleeping while someone gets ready for work"? I'd say this quote is pretty accurate although I could think of one thing slightly better and that is coffee. If you say you don't like coffee than you must be lying to yourself. A few days ago I had breakfast at one of my favourite coffee shops by the unusual name The Drowned Rat. Now don't let the name deceive you, its unusual name is due to the fact that this cafe is a puppy cafe and you can literally have breakfast with your 'best friend'. Although I mostly come here for the cappuccinos and oh so delicious macadamia and white chocolate muffins. Here are a few photos of my morning while I waited for my friend to return home from work.

Breakfast with a view

While not the most healthiest option for breakfast these muffins are definitely worth the calories and go perfectly with a caramel cappuccino. What do you love having with your coffee? Let me know.

Katie

You can also find me on Instagram and Twitter.

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Drugstore beauty sale

Is there anything more beautiful than seeing row after row of makeup? Yes... Row after row of makeup on sale, although I think my bank account disagrees. After a lunch date with my best friend we were caught by a drugstore sale and like any other pair of beauty obsessed girls with shopping withdrawals for things we really didn't need we caved. I picked up only a few things and thought I would share and give a little mini review on the things I purchased. 

The first two products I picked up were re purchases these were the Rimmel Stay Matte translucent setting powder and the Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner. Both these products are my two favourite drugstore purchases as a use them both each and every single time I do my makeup. The Maybelline liquid eyeliner is the only I have found with the thinnest nib which is great for getting super close to the lash line and creating a very crisp line when creating a winged liner. Stay Matte powder is excellent at setting my foundation it lasts pretty much all day apart from in my T zone which needs re applying throughout the day. The only thing I don't love about it is its scent. It has quite a peculiar scent which reminds me of crushed coral? strange, however it is a super inexpensive setting powder that gets the job done. 

The next two products I picked up after seeing a recommendation on Youtube from Zoella. These are the Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stains in the shades LA Exclusive and Parisian Passion. 

These lip stains are gorgeous on my lips, the pigmentation in the tube is amazing and on the lips both shades leave a lovely sheer glaze of glossy colour. I find that the shade LA Exclusive is much more pink-nude on the lips than in the tube but the shade is still gorgeous and looks lovely over nude lipstick. Parisian Passion is the perfect plum shade for Autumn and Winter which has a colour payoff very similar to that in the tube. This shade provides the perfect amount of sheer colour to the lips which is great for those of you who aren't as daring with your lip shades but still want something different and bold for the cooler months. Now I can't almost wait for Autumn to come around so I can wear this shade out. What i also love about these moisture stains is they have a cooling effect on my lips and are very creamy and hydrating. 

And finally I picked up a Ciaté Caviar Manicure nail set with the shade Strawberry Milkshake. I have always wanted to try the Ciaté nail polishes but was always put off by the caviar set but decided since it was on sale to try it out. What firsts attracts me to these nail polishes it the packaging, it it so polished and chic and I adore the unique bottle style and bows. I love this gorgeous baby pink shade it deffinetly screams Strawberry Milshake and has a nice creamy formula that isn't too thick. I found it a bit difficult at first to apply the micro beads onto my nail (I opted for one feature nail as I thought all five was a bit OTT for me) and had to reapply the pink shade again as it dries pretty quickly and the beads wouldn't stick, so I recommend applying them as soon as the second coat is on. 

I actually ended up loving the look of the caviar nails it is very different to what I have used before but I love the contrast of colours and textures and i think it would be great for a night out or formal occasion. The only thing I haven't loved so far is the beads tend to fall off quickly (mind you I didn't use a top coat) I had a shower after they had dried shortly after and a lot of beads came off, this also could be because the set was on sale.  Have you tried this set and had similar problems? let me know. 

Have you tried any of these drugstore beauty finds? or know of any dupes? I'm looking to try some new liquid eyeliners. Leave me some suggestions below.

Katie 

You can also find me on Instagram and Twitter.

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Minimal Makeup

I am a lazy girl at heart but at the same time I also love going out whether this be for the guilty splurge in a department store or an early brunch at one of my favourite restaurants. I always struggle with my love for makeup and getting ready and my wanting to just throw my hair up and run out the door just to grab a few more minutes sleep. When I'm in one of these moods where I want to look nice but with using as little products as well as little effort as possible I always go for this minimal beauty routine which will make me still look presentable but isn't going to make me dread getting ready. 

I start of with my all time favourite foundation Nars Sheer glow, what I love about this foundation is how light weight it is on the skin which is perfect for a morning where I really don't want a full face of heavy makeup on my skin but still want to achieve medium to full coverage with the least amount of product as possible, which is definitely the key to minimal makeup. I have a full review on this foundation check it out here.

I then take what every early morning girl needs, Concelear to brighten under my eyes and give the appearance of brighter skin that makes me look more awake even if i've had limited sleep and dark under eye circles. The concelear I love to use is the Nars creamy concelear in Vanilla. This concealer is my beauty favourite and I can not see me going back to another. It is long lasting, creamy brightening and doesn't crease.

I have recently become a fan of Hourglass cosmetics, so it shouldn't come to a surprise to any of you that the Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette is included in this post. I use all three shades in this palette to achieve a minimal makeup look. The first I use very lightly to set my concealer, the third I use as both a bronzer to warm up my complexion and a blush along the apple of my cheeks and the middle shade as a highlight. This palette is very universal so I love using it on days where I am just not in the mood to pick out three or four different products just to give me some colour. I also have a post dedicated to this, you can read it here. 

Brows are essential to my beauty routine, so they are a must regardless of whether I'm running late or just can't be bothered. Brow powder is what I have been using lately to fill in my brows as I find it gives a more natural and 'minimal' look. I use an eyeshadow by Mac in Omega with an angled liner brush. 

Putting emphasis on the eyes isn't as essential to me when create a minimal and effortless look and while I love a good cat eye as any other beauty lover, on those days where I really don't have the time or patience to get the perfect wing I will opt out and instead apply a coat of mascara just to lengthen and add definition. I use the Estee Lauder Double Wear mascara which is double ended with a primer. This is great for holding curl longer particularly if you don't have a eyelash curler or like me lost yours. 

Let me know which products you love using to create a minimal 'no-makup, makeup' look.

Katie

you can also find me on Instagram and Twitter.

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Colours for Summer

If you're anything like me then the one thing you look forward to when the new season rolls around is switching up colour shades with makeup. While I am a lover of autumnal red wines and berries there is just something exciting about changing up those deeper shades to bright and vibrant pinks and reds and of course pairing those with new summer outfits, which I was dying to throw on once it started heating up and boy did it! 

I'm going to start of with two blush shades which I think are perfect for this time of the year, one an all time favourite and a new one which has quickly become a part of my daily Summer beauty routine. 

Mac will always be one of my favourite brands however, I usually have trouble with their blushers as most I find are quite 'dry' and hard to blend. While this is usually the case I finally found one that blends perfectly, isn't dry when compared to others and has a beautiful summery shade. This blush is in the shade Dollymix and has great colour pay off due to its high pigmentation, believe me when I say a little goes a long way. Dollymix is a deep candy pink with a slight metallic satin finish which provides a super lovely highlighted flush to the cheeks. 

Now if you read one of my latest posts you would know that I recently picked up the Hourglass Ambient lighting palette which I am now regretting as it has made me a huge fan of the brand and has  'forced' me into picking up another of their products. This time I purchased anAmbient lighting blush in the shade Diffused Heat...wow. This blush is so beautiful, the packaging to start with is a gorgeous antique gold which shines just as bright as the blush its self. Like the Lighting palette this blush is also from their Ambient lighting range and so it has a slightly noticeable amount of shimmer which adds a lovely pop of colour that provides a radiant glow to the cheeks. Hourglass is soon becoming one of my top favourite makeup brands. 

My go to look for Summer is having super highlighted cheekbones, while powder highlighters do the job I love combining them with these two products which are pink based creme highlighters. The first is Girl Meets Pearl by Benefit Cosmetics. This highlighter almost acts as a shiny golden peach primer as well as a creme highlight which I use in both ways. The image pictured is only a sample ( as a ran out of my full size) so I have been using this one just along my cheekbones. What I love most about this other than the cute packaging and perfect glow is it's very pretty strawberry scent. 

Left Benefit Girl Meets Pearl, Right Maybelline Instant Age Rewind

The second highlight i have been using is the Maybelline Instant age rewind under eye concealer in 'Highlighter'. This one is super pink in tone and very creamy with an almost satin finish to it. Out of the two i prefer the Benefit Girl meets pearl simply because the shade is more natural then Maybellines but both provide a super nice highlight.

And finally lips, because what really is summer makeup about then bright lip shades? I have a number of bright and vibrant lipsticks which would be perfect for this post but the more I thought about it the more I thought how annoying lipsticks can tend to be throughout summer due to their creaminess which I sometimes find annoying throughout the hot weather. So instead my top three summer colours are three of the Revlon Balm stains. Two are from the Just Bitten Kissable range which are in the shades Cherish and Sweetheart which both have a glossy finish. The third is from the colour burst range in Unapologetic and has a matte finish. What I love about these three products is that they are as pigmented as a lipstick but are a stain and last pretty much all day. They are also a lot less messy and easy to apply. 

Cherish, Sweetheart, Unapologetic

All three shades while in the same colour spectrum are all very different which is great for creating new looks. My favourite out of the three is in Cherish which is a very typical bubblegum pink with blue undertones. I find this is the most subtle of the three while still providing the perfect pop of colour. 

If you have tried any of these gorgeous sumer shades and loved them as much as I have then let me know in the comments. What are your go to summer makeup products?

Katie

you can also find me on Instagram and Twitter.

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Brunch with a Twist

I'm going to start this post off by saying that I am a self proclaimed foodie and spend a lot if not most of my money dining out at my favourite restaurants. Today was no exception. 

French Twist restaurant is by far my all time favourite restaurant within Brisbane and while the drive can be quite a nightmare the food and atmosphere is definitely worth it. Without this post turning into a strange restaurant review diary post I thought I would show you some photos of my day and let them speak for themselves. 

How was I supposed to choose between smoked salmon, prosciutto and haloumi?

Okay I may have over exaggerated that I spend most of my money on food, I also 'invest' in numerous white and cream tops, so of course I popped into Topshop after seeing the big pink SALE signs and falling for there marketing ploy purchased two tops the first a slightly curved, high neck crop with crochet detailing and a quarter length sleeve, geometric quilt top. Both have made great additions to my growing collection.

I thought todays adventures would be a great opportunity to extend my blog past simply 'beauty' related posts and start including fashion and lifestyle pieces. If you enjoyed this please let me know in the comments.

Katie

you can also find me on Instagram and Twitter.

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