Sorry I have been letting this blog down a little for the last few weeks, I've been on holiday in Adelaide. 

I think I might begin to sketch out a little plan of when and what I post. Update to come soon! 

If anyone has suggestions of what they would like to see, just let me know. For the moment I am thinking more DIY's, how to's on Make-up and some more cooking posts. We'll see!

Heres a photo of the Dance Mini Dance floor in use. Soon the final videos will be released, and I'll post them here!

Pastel Hair - How to!

I've been dying my hair pastel purple for almost a year now. Pretty much since I changed from black to blonde.

Heres a photo of me smiling awkwardly over my delicious birthday brekkie last year.

I've been cutting and dying my own hair for years now. I've been through most of the colours in the hair rainbow. I cut, bleach and dye my hair in the privacy of my own bathroom, and like it that way. At least theres no-one else to blame when things go wrong.

Beginning with my bleach blonde hair, I take a small squeeze of Paintbox Dye in Purple Haze and a large squeeze of conditioner. Mixing the two together, I continue to add one or the other until I've found a colour I'm satisfied with. To test the colour, I take a piece of white paper and paint a small bit on. This shows the true colour of the dye, as it will hopefully look when the dying process is done.

Disclaimer: Be careful with the dye, as it stains everything. Everything!

Next, I take my brush (you can find a good hair dying kit at Priceline or Hairhouse Warehouse) and carefully paint onto my hair in the places where I want the dye. Most of the time, I just dye the top and fringe section. 

After this point, I let it sit for around half an hour. As this dye is conditioner based, you can leave it in almost like a hair mask and instead of doing damage, it will leave your hair shiny and feeling refreshed. 

Wash it out, and you're good to go.

A great trick to maintain the colour is to mix a little of the dye into your conditioner bottle. It makes the overall pastel shade last a long time, and on the rest of your blonde locks it tones the orange out. 

May Favourites

Not too many favourites this month. I'm pretty proud to say that this month I haven't bought a single new product. I've been going through the old products that I have bought in the past, and these are the ones that really stood out for me!

Firstly, I have been using the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. Recently, this has risen to cult status on various blogs and the beauty world on youtube. When I bought this, I had my doubts. It was impossible that something could be as good as this had been made out to be. 

Having said that, this is pretty darn good. I use it to remove my makeup at night and it is gentle, kind to the skin and leaves me feeling really refreshed. It just seems like water, with a slight hint of scent that smells clean and fresh. Using a cotton pad or two, I take off all of my makeup, including my waterproof mascara. 

The Covergirl Cheekers blush in 105 Rose Silk.

This is one that I bought when first truly dabbling with makeup a few years back. This is the second package of it I have bought, and on my super pale skin it is really beautiful. With a colour that errs on the side of coral and rose, and a smooth and silky texture, the only thing I can say might be a little off putting is the smell.

First of all, I don't recommend sticking it near your nose and breathing in. Not a good experience.

It kind of smells like old lady makeup. It smells dusty and perfumey and almost op shop like. But luckily this smell isn't too strong and disappears almost as soon as you put it on your face. . 

When you do put it on it looks like a super natural, glowy flush.

The Maybelline Colossal Volume Express Waterproof Mascara in black. 

At first, I really didn't like this mascara. 

The formula was fine, but the wand was just not doing it for me. A plastic wand with short and thick 'hairs', it was just generally very disappointing. I set it aside and went back to my Revlon mascara (see my last favourites) until that dried out and I was left with this or nothing.

On the second go, I have really liked this. To begin with, I swapped the wand with a disposable one from my makeup kit, and this fixed the struggles and allowed me to use the great formula within. 

But then I became lazy, and went back to using the real wand and began to like it more and more. 

The formula holds curl really well and the brush fits well to the shape of your eye. 

I'm not sure if I am going to re purchase this straight away, but it has definitely made it to my list of great mascaras.

The Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Fair. 

Maybelline does two versions of this, and I own both. Lately I have been having some real troubles with my skin. It's been breaking out like crazy, getting super oily towards the end of the day and drying out by the morning. I don't know what to do, because my skincare routine that was working so well is suddenly not cutting it. More about that when I find the solution. Unless you have one?

So I have been using both of these BB creams, depending on what state my skin is in that day. 

The consistency is quite runny. This put me off a little bit when first using it, but only because my expectations were more for a moisturiser consistency and not a liquid foundation one. 

Sometimes, with BB creams, I find that the colour is just too orange for me to use, and the range of colours doesn't reach a pale enough colour for my skin. 

This one suits me perfectly. Although it looks a little orange on the hand, it applies smoothly and blends away into the skin with no problems at all. It seems to blend the skin tone to create a super easy base to work it. The coverage is very light, but it takes some of the redness away from the spots and makes my skin look much healthier than it really is. 

Well, I think that's all for my favourites today. Have a good one!

Let me know what your current favourites might be!

Bloggers I'm addicted to

Today, I just thought I'd do a quick post on the bloggers I love to follow. There aren't many, but those that I do, I am addicted to in almost a creepy stalker sense.

1. Essie Button

Not only a blogger, but a super popular Youtuber who seems just as real in her blogs and videos as I'd assume she is in real life. Her posts are mostly on makeup and beauty, and are consistently funny and charming.

This is her youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/essiebutton

2. Katie Rogers of Paperfashion

This is the most exquisite blog I have ever seen. Each post is beautifully written, and the illustrations keep me looking through it for hours. Once, over the period of a few days, I looked at every post she has ever made. Although I probably don't suggest you stalk it to that degree, having a look over a cup of tea will easily take some of the stress from your day.

And last of all, a classic

3. Hyperbole and a Half

Although she doesn't post much these days, the back logs are enough to set me laughing in my seat.

When I was travelling in 2010, I really enjoyed reading these to bring me out of those homesick days.

Well, I guess thats all for today. Just some suggestions to help you to take some time out (and spend even more time looking at a screen..)

Empties #1

Empties blog posts and videos are some of my favourites in the blogger world. Rather than being favourites, its an honest review of what to buy and what not to. 

Over the last few months I have been collecting a number of empties to show you. and I think I finally have enough to give you a good taste of what I've been using.

To begin, the Neutrogena Body Clear Body Wash in Pink Grapefruit.

To start with, this smells divine. I would use this, the matching face wash, and then step out of the shower to use my Body Shop Grapefruit spray (recently mentioned in my scent post) and feel like summer. 

For the price though, I don't think it is really worth it. Costing around $15 AU, I think it is just too much to ask for a good smelling body wash that is pretty much just that, a body wash. Luckily, I got the set on sale for half price and so could excuse it. 

Next is the Original Source shower gel in Mint. These shower gels are my holy grail products. I always go back to buying them. At $4 AU (at the most) for a large bottle, they smell fresh, leave you feeling clean and have a lovely scent that lingers. The mint is my choice for winter, but going into summer I tend to switch to the lime or lemon scent. 

Lastly in this photo, is the Clear Moisturising Dry Scalp Conditioner. I didn't really have scalp problems when I bought this, it was just on sale, and cheap is good!

I mixed some of my purple hair dye into this to keep the lavender going, and it served me well. Not a stand out conditioner, but it left my hair feeling soft and clean, and that is all it needed to do.

Here are another three holy grail products for me. I think that might be a pattern you see in these empties posts, as I am prone to using up my favourites first.

At the front is the Garnier Youthful Radiance Night cream. This is a fairly light night cream, good for those of us with oily skin (which I am prone to at the end of the day) that sinks in and leaves your skin feeling fresh come morning. It smells light and simple, slightly like cucumber. 

The Nivea Soft Moisturising cream is another one I've been using for years. Being a fairly basic, unscented product, it works on most skin types, and I have a spare tube of it in my MUA kit.

I think that is one of the true tests of a product for me, being able to use it and enjoy it on my skin and willing to use it during shoots. Leave it to dry for a few moments before putting your make up on.

Lastly in this photo is the Palmers Shea Butter Formula in the Concentrated Cream. This is a super thick, heavy moisturisers good for dry skin. It is recommended for use on knees and elbows, but I tend to take that one step further and use it on my feet during the changes of season and as a hand cream throughout the year. It takes a while to massage in, but once its on you can feel the difference immediately, and after just a few days of use it repairs the dry skin like nothing else. Very sad to be out of this one!

Finally, something I have mentioned a few times on this blog, the Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara. This is one that I am willing to buy again, but want to test out a few more products before adding it to the holy grail list. A nice formula with a good thick fibre brush to apply with. To read more about this one, check out my March Favourites. 

Cutting your own hair

Evening! 

I have been cutting and dying my own hair for around two years now. Wow, I've just surprised myself by saying that. I haven't paid for a hair cut in two years. 

And even more impressive, I've been happy with the results. 

I especially enjoy it because there is never anyone else to blame. If I make an error, I did it, and I can't sit around being frustrated at someone else. So far, I haven't had any major tragedies.

Just a few quick tips to get you going!

1. Take it in small steps. You're not paying for your time, so take all the time you need. 

2. Think about where you want to cut, and what you want it to look like, before you take the plunge.

3. Make sure none of your cuts are directly straight across. Feather them out so they look a little more natural, and this way you wont ever have any giant 'steps' obviously showing out. 

4. Probably the most important one, trust yourself. Enough said!

Vegetarian - The big questions

As a vegetarian, I thought I might address the questions I get asked on a regular basis. These are questions that are raised for most vegetarians at many stages throughout life. Recently, I have been asked these questions most times I meet somebody new.

Why and how?

My reasons for being vegetarian are probably very different to many others out there. I just don't like meat. For me, it's that simple. And as I don't like meat, I don't see the point in harming animals to eat something I don't enjoy.

I do believe in the usual values of being a vegetarian. At a young age, I was taken to a pig farm in rural Australia, and was absolutely shocked by what I saw. The images were horrifying, and it is the first time I can remember being truly passionate about something.

The pigs were packed in like dominoes, or worse. The piglets, only a few days after being born, were separated from their mothers and packed into tent like areas around the size of the back of a truck. There were so many that they were piled on top of each other just to fit. The ones underneath were being crushed, and many died as a result. But instead of being a problem for the farmers, it was just life. They had enough piglets for their next round of meat, and the loss of a number of them wasn't going to affect their output. The mothers of the pigs had to give birth in pens where their fat was pushing through the bars and they could not move. The amount of horror I saw shocked me to the core. And as a girl at somewhere around 12 years old, I began to have the real idea of what eating meat means.

Although it was a horrifying experience, I think it is one that all people should have.

Knowing where your meat comes from is important.

Having said all of this, I don't mind when people cook or eat meat in front of me. It is each persons choice, and I have no right to judge or look at people in a different way because of their preference.

The next question I often get is how I replace the iron and protein in my diet to be healthy.

This is an interesting one, and I have heard and read about lots of opinions on the matter.

Personally, when I became vegetarian, I actually found myself becoming healthier with no real effort.

As I used to eat some meat, but not enjoy it and so not eating very much, I found myself consistently low in iron. I have been taking iron supplements on and off for years. But when I became a vegetarian, and later went to my doctor to get a regular blood test, I found that I was actually, surprisingly, better off than before.

Since then, not one blood test has shown low iron.

Sounds strange, doesn't it?

I put it down to the fact that to fill out meals and keep them interesting, I like to add a mix of beans, lentils, nuts or tofu that in turn add the protein and some of the iron back into my diet. I am also eating better than I was before. Instead of skipping the meat in meals and eating potatoes, bread and vegetables to fill up, I add these ingredients and end up with a wholesome and healthy diet.

So far, I haven't had to have a detailed look at the breakdown of what I eat. I'm not suggesting that this is the recommended way to go, but it has worked for me.

Adding different types of leafy greens not only adds more iron to the mix, but also adds some colour and life. The options are pretty much endless.

If you are looking to be a vegetarian, I first want to say, do it for the right reasons. If you don't feel passionate about it, or don't have a strong enough personal reason, it will be difficult to stick to your plan. Secondly, when you do change, take the change slowly. Don't just suddenly cut the meat from your diet, or you will be faced with recipes that you might not be comfortable with. Also, look for ways to directly replace the meat in your dishes. One of my favourite meals to cook is a Tofu Tikka. It follows the same recipe as a standard Chicken Tikka, but replaces the chicken with tofu.

There are some great articles online about becoming a vegetarian, and I thought I would link them below.

http://zenhabits.net/how-to-become-a-vegetarian-the-easy-way/

This goes through all of the points I have made in detail, and also explains how and why vegetarianism might or might not be for you.

http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/frequently-asked-questions/vegetarian-diets#.U4Ww_pSSzlM

This one might be a little more boring, but really goes into the detail of the vitamins and minerals you need to be careful with when becoming a vegetarian.

The photos I have inserted into this article are not my own. I recommend looking at each of the articles these photos came from, they're very interesting and important reads.

Photos from:

http://westender.com.au/eat-vegetables-theyre-even-better-thought/

http://tynan.com/maxdiet-week-what-to-eat

http://www.aact.org.au/pig_industry.htm