No no no no no! January is already gone? I am not sure how to feel about this. I have been itching and waiting for the end of January to come around so that I can share my favourites with you, but now that its here, it seems too surreal.













First up on my list is my Lip De-Luscious Tint from Mecca in the shade Berry. I had been eyeing this off for months, but I didn't want to spend 30 dollars on a lip balm. Luckily for me, I got given a Mecca Gift Card for Christmas, so of course I picked one up ! It. Is. Stunning. It gives your lips a subtle tint, with lots of gloss, which is not only moisturizing but also long-wearing. I popped this on after work one day before I hit the gym, and it was still glossy and juicy when I dragged my sorry, sweaty ass into my car after.


As the wise, Rihanna would say, where have you been all my life? I am talking to you MAC Fix+. I have used it practically every single day since purchasing this, as it makes your eyeshadow go on SO pigmented and glowy! yes yes yes yes!



 A re-found love of mine this month has been the Kat Von D Lock-It Foundation in the shade 42. I really enjoyed this back in August when i first picked this up, but then I got addicted to my MAC Studio Fix that it was put on the back-burner. I picked up the Kat Von D Lock-It Powder Foundation in the shade 42 which teamed up with the liquid foundation is amazing! You can really achieve a full-coverage look with this duo! I would like to note that if you have super dry skin, this may be cake overload for you, as it is quite drying. I have dry to combination skin (dry skin yet makeup falls off my face so easily) and I find it works amazing with a little bit of a hydrating primer underneath.


I am a bit of a body wash fiend to be honest. I usually have anywhere between 2-5 going at the one time (I know, I am a sad excuse for a human being). At the end of December I finally got my hands on the Spiced Apple body wash from Body Shop, and boy did it not disappoint! I am super sad that it is nearly running out, but thats a lesson learned... this year I shall pick up 20 (you think im joking....).

On to the random tidbits of the month that I loved...


I recently got myself back into Audible and I will never look back. I downloaded my first free book which happened to be 'The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck' by Sarah Knight, and listened to it at work. I have a pretty amazing job, in which I can put my headphones on, and listen to music (or in this case, Audio Books) while I get my tasks done. The book was insightful but it really didn't live up to my hype or expectations. I am super keen, however, to pick up another book and get listening again.



Another leisurely favourite is my bullet journal! I was using a cheap visual diary to create a bullet journal off and on for the last few months of 2016, but I decided to commit to a new Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal for 2017. Stay tuned for blog posts to come on how I set up, plan, and track things with my journal.

Lastly, a monthly favourites for me would not be a monthly favourites without some music loves! This month i had a few stand-outs (Shape Of You....need I say more?), as well as some old faves revisited (I will attach links to all below so you can listen).





That is it for January! Here's to another quick year in our midst.

What way to kick off the new year with new makeup goodies to play with!? I picked up a fair bit of stuff here and there over the space of about a month, including stuff I was able to get as gifts and/or with gift cards that I received. Of course to justify it all, what better way to do so than with a haul!

I am the type of person who makes all the lists in the world of the things I want to do or achieve, but I never make the necessary changes to get my shit together. 2017 is a new chapter for many people, and I am a big believer in fresh starts. I know that you can start fresh any day of the year, but the new year is just that extra special step forward to starting a new chapter in your life. To bring in the new year I thought I would share my goals for 2017 not only to maybe inspire others, but to also hold myself accountable. You will notice that after I state my goals I will have a section called 'Action'... This is where I will give little examples of HOW I am going to achieve my goals.

1. EXERCISE

BIGGEST goal for me for 2017 is to work on my health and fitness. I am overweight and not all that healthy, especially mentally. I really wish to get to a point where I don't even think twice about my exercise routine. I have a gym membership to an AWWWWWESOME local gym with some amazing friends and trainers, and I also plan on taking part of a few different challenges to keep me motivated. I have picked up a new water bottle from Big Bottle Co (another MAJOR goal for me for the new year - DRINK. MORE. WATER.), along with my new wireless headphones that I got as a Christmas present.

ACTION: - Workout 3-5 times per week with 3 sessions being the minimum!
- Don't buy soft-drink when doing groceries. FORCE yourself to have to drink water instead.

2. Read more & set up a routine

These two goals kind of go hand in hand. I used to be a huge reader, however I slacked off when I wasn't in a good routine like I am now for my everyday life. I work full-time, and I used to think that if I am waking up at 7am, I need to be getting heaps of sleep and be in bed by 9pm. I have adjusted my routine, and now I actually stay up an extra couple of hours per night as I can generally function off less sleep (don't stress I still get enough!). I want to work on getting into a routine that maximises the hours of the day I have, including more reading time, time to do blog work, as well as for my exercising.

ACTION: - Stick with my Bullet Journal to plan and organise my life so that I stay following a routine.
- Set aside time each night to read a chapter or two before bed.
- Spend Sunday afternoon/night preparing for the week ahead (Blog post coming soon!)

3. Establish my blog more and grow my base.

I have slacked off MAJORLY this passed month, just due to some personal issues that were honestly more important than working on my blog. However now that my life is starting to come back together I really want to put more time and effort into growing with this community. A top goal would be to double my followers on Instagram (which would be roughly 1600) and start putting up at least 1 post per week. Ultimately I don't care if my 'followers' don't go higher or lower or whatever way it goes, but I would like to prove to myself that I can stick with something, and express some creativity.

ACTION: - download a preview app for Instagram (THANK YOU KATE @themintedblog !!) so that you can schedule posts.
- Talk about what you are passionate about and share that with others.

4. Live more.

I tend to make excuses for a lot of things. I don't want to leave my house because I would rather be in bed on Netflix. I don't want to do blog work cause I am tired after work. I don't want to make plans for the weekend as I would rather be lazy and rest. I make excuses all the time and I want to learn to say YES to more things. We weren't put on this earth to work, sleep, repeat, and die.

ACTION: - Set aside allocated times for date nights.
- Create things to do with friends and family during the week, not just on weekends.
- Go to a few concerts and let your hair down!
- Visit Melbourne and Tasmania this year for an adventure! 

My goals for 2017 are quite simple and are very heavily based of Self-Love and working on myself, my body, and my mind. I would love to hear what your goals are for the new year down below in the comments! x

This is probably my most exciting purchase of the entire year, and most adored Christmas release in my eyes! Too Faced always bring out AMAZING collections from the quality, to the names of products, to the packaging. I almost didn't even pick this palette up as I thought that it was quite similar to the Chocolate Bar Palette, with the neutral shades. Boy was I wrong! Keep reading to hear my thoughts on the Too Faced Merry Macarons Palette!!




The best part about this gift set is that the palette actually separates from the display! Often times, companies create AMAZING packaging for holiday collections, but they can be quite bulky and often not as desirable for everyday use and/or travelling. This eyeshadow palette can be taken out of the display, meaning you can store it easily. If you desire, you could even keep the box/display for keepsake if that tickles your pickle. The downside to this palette is that there is no mirror inside, which could be a deal-breaker for some, but honestly it's not even a huge issue for me as I generally will have a million other products with a mirror that I can use!


The palette is vanilla scented, and just smells like a delicious cupcake! With 12 warm eyeshadow shades with a mixture of matte and shimmer, you can't go wrong. There are a lot of purple hues in the palette which I absolutely love, as I find purple compliments a lot of different eye colours. They swatch like a dream! So buttery and pigmented and VERY easily blendable! Stand-out shades for me would have to be Banana Cream, Champagne Rose & Honey Lavender.

Swatches Top - Bottom: Coconut, Dulce de Leche, Banana Cream, Almond Mocha, Champagne Rose, Mint Chocolate, Tiramisu, Chocolate Raspberry, Praline, Honey Lavender, Violet Cassis, Cookies & Cream

Another month down, a couple more to go! Who else is super keen for the new year? I am just keen in general for the holiday season and to get shit done! There is a few things that I was obsessed with last month, including non-beauty items so maybe go grab a cup of tea, or a shot of vodka, and get settled in!


First up is this wonderful object of my affection from Becca.I picked this up from my good friend Ebony (Owner of @theblackandwhiteguide....you SERIOUSLY need to check out her Instagram sale page @tbawgblogsale to see some of the goodies she is selling!) for 10 dollars off the RRP normally at Sephora. It is the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Rose Gold. It is intended as a highlighter, but I actually use this as a blush-topper and sometimes even just simply as a blush. It is stunning.

Another STAND-OUT for me is the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. Have I talked about this yet on my blog? I am sorry if I have BUT OH MY, I will never stop loving this mascara. I really want to try out the waterproof version asap. Another favourite is my Benefit Hoola Bronzer Mini. I have found this to be pretty darn good with my pale skin as even though its quite warm, it isn't straight up orange.

Skincare wise, I have been really trying to get my butt into gear and start clearing up my skin. I have seriously been loving the whole Hydro Boost range from Neutrogena lately. I find it to be honestly AMAZING on my dry skin, and help put a bit of liveliness back into my skin. My standouts are the Hydro Boost masks, and the Hydro Boost Night Concentrate.


I have been loving this little makeup organiser I picked up off Ebay Recently. I can't seem to actually find the seller anymore, however if you type in Acrylic Makeup Storage, I am certain you will find similar products. It only cost me $20 dollars and I have been using it for my current favourites, or things I want to try out. I have a lot of makeup, so this is good to keep things rotating so that I am using up products more.


Music faves for the month would have to be Catch 22 by Illy ft. Anne-Marie, Cancer (cover) by Twenty One Pilots, and Sick of Losing Soulmates by Dodie (Clark). Talk about variety ha!

I am super excited for the next few months ahead, so stay tuned for more posts :)

This time of the year is my hands-down favourite season, minus the stinking hot weather in QLD. It is also one of the most stressful periods of the year, and sometimes the fluctuation of conflicting feelings can make us overwhelmed. I thought it would be a good idea to talk about a few ways we can turn our worries into wisdom at this busy time of the year, so that we can stay positive and joyful!

I have been trying to get myself into a good routine where I actually clean my face and look after it. Not so long ago my skincare routine was practically non-existent. As bad as this sounds (please don't smite me), I sometimes wouldn't even bother to take my makeup off. I would just fall asleep, and then in the morning apply over top...I can hear the profanities and the shocked gasps now. I know guys..I know. So, the following may seem like a lot of steps, but I have had to take action to save my face from the state it is in, so for me it is necessary. Plus, I have now come to enjoy how relaxing it is to do my skincare routine.

Firstly I will use some makeup remover wipes to take off the bulk of my makeup. Right now I am loving the Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes in the Night Calming version (what a bloody name!) as they smell amazing, and take off all of my makeup quite easily! This step just aids in helping me get the cleanest skin as possible, so that when I go in with a cleanser the layer of makeup is already gone. I recently picked up the Purasonic Neo Facial Cleansing Brush Kit from my local Woolworths for $49 to see what the hype was when it came to electronic face brushes.....I am HOOKED. I can see why people pay a lot of money for these bad boys.With my Neo brush I will put some cleanser on the brush (I usually do this step in the shower, just personal preference) and gently brush it around my face for the two minute timer it is set to. The cleanser I use changes depending on what I have, but at the moment I am using the Garnier Pure Active Fruit Energy Energising Cleansing Gel.






Once I am out of the shower I will move on to the rest of my skincare which sometimes varies depending on what areas I need to target. I start off by using a toner, which is a new step in my routine, and right now I am using the Simple Kind To Skin Soothing Toner to just ensure all the grime and makeup is off my skin. Then I use a blemish treatment to help get rid of some of my pimples and blemishes that cover my face. Right now I am trailing out the Acne Blemish Treatment by Formula 10.0.6. Then I will use a serum or an oil, for added hydration as my skin is quite dry and tight, especially after cleansing! The serum I am liking at the moment is the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Serum, mainly because of how amazing it smells! As my skin is quite dry, once the serum has soaked in, I will go in with a separate moisturiser on top of the serum. I have just bought the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Night Concentrate so I am testing it out to see if it works well with the serum. After that, I usually call it a day and leave it at that.


Sometimes there are a few other little things that I will add or replace in my skincare, depending on what mood I'm in, if i have problem areas, etc. I thought I would include a few of the products I use generally every week, but not on a daily basis. I bought these Overnight Spot Minimizing Patches to see if they were a fail or a holy grail, and my goodness...THEY WORK. I put like a dozen over my face the other night just before I went to bed, and when I woke up in the morning, the spots were significantly reduced. I also love doing face masks every few days if I have the time and energy, and I have a whole other blog post coming soon dedicated to all my masks I have, but lately there are two that I have been loving. A new favourite that i picked up based on the recommendation of fellow (amaaaazing) blogger Ebony @ The Black and White guide, are the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Masks. The best way to describe these is that they are basically the Hydro Boost Serum on crack. Legit. So much hydration from one little sheet mask! Lastly, I loveeeeeee love love the Sephora Collection Mud Mask otherwise known as Masque Boue Purifant Matifiant. I don't use this more than once a week as if I did my skin would become even drier than it is, but this is a great mask to get all the gunk and junk out of your pores!


That is pretty much it for right now! I do change things here and there, but I find these steps help to reduce my acne scarring. Slowly but surely I am seeing progress!