31/05/2012

DIY Wipeable Calender

This is a really simple DIY tutorial for a wipeable calender. Very handy and totally reusable.

I decided to make my calendar A3 size so that I would have plenty of room to write.

I printed my months from iCal but there are plenty of templates available online.


You will need...


- A photo frame big enough to fit your calendar plus a border (make sure this photo frame can be easily opened and closed as you will need to change the months!)

-Whiteboard markers

- A ruler

- Wool (or something to hang the picture with)

- Scrapbooking paper (or anything to decorate!)

- Glue

- A pencil


How to make it...

You can pretty much do what you want here but this is what I did!

1. Create a border - mine was 4cm thick and I drew it onto the paper provided in the photo frame.

2. Decorate the border however you like! I cut up some scrapbooking paper I had and made a pattern.


4. Glue this onto the backing of the photo frame

5. Place the calendar month inside the border (do not glue this as you will want to change this each month!)

6. Put it all back inside the frame and your done!!


 So easy and handy because you can wipe off everything at the end of the month, replace the month and start again!

- J x
 
Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.

30/05/2012

Beauty Boxes

Australia has finally come to the party when it comes to beauty boxes. I see these boxes in the YouTube videos of UK & US beauty guru's and am always intrigued as to what they would be like.

If you have never heard of beauty boxes, they are boxes that you pay a subscription for (the most expensive I've seen is $20.00) and they send out out a box with samples of beauty products in there from skin care to makeup (usually 5 - 6). What I like about them is that you can sample products that you may not have heard of or thought about buying. You may be surprised with what else is out there.

I have been doing a little bit of investigating and have compiled a list of the beauty boxes available in Australia.




Glossybox is actually a popular beauty box brand overseas. Glossybox Australia and Lust Have It have recently combined and are now both under the Lust Have It brand.

The brands that Lust Have It / Glossybox Australia support can be found here.

Some of the more popular brands include:

- O.P.I
- Nude by Nature
- Lush (Fresh Handmade Cosmetics)
- Dermalogica
- Lancome Paris

The subscription for this box is $14.95 a month (postage included)

They also have a rewards scheme.

For more information, visit their FAQ section.



2. bellabox



The list of brands that bellabox support can be found here.


Some of the more popular brands include:

- Bobby Brown
- DKNY
- Lancome Paris
- Napolean Perdis

 The subscription for this box is $15.00 a month (postage included)
 
They have a beauty profile that you can fill out so that they can somewhat customise your box to suit your needs.

They also offer a rewards program.

To find out more, visit their FAQ section.


3. I Love This Box


The list of brands supported by I Love This Box can be found here.

Some of the more popular brands include:

- Rimmel London
- Elizabeth Arden
- Essie
- Lancome Paris

They also have a beauty profile like bellabox so that your box is somewhat customised.

This is the most expensive box I have found with a subscription costing $20.00 a month (postage included)

Like the others I Love This Box offers a rewards program.

To find out more, visit their FAQ section.


4. Red Me-what!
 
Red Meow is another one I have heard of along the grapevine but so far their website is not up so we will have to wait and see with that one. From what I have heard though, they should be the cheapest at $10.00 a month.

One great thing about all of these boxes is that you are able to unsubscribe whenever you want (usually you need to give a month's notice).

I think I might try Lust Have It! first. And then maybe bellabox. Personally, I Love This Box does not interest me too much. I think the others have more of the brands I enjoy.

- J x

Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.

Work Hairstyles



These are a few of the hairstyles that I wear to work quite a bit - mainly because they keep my hair out of my face! 






1. High Messy Bun
I wear buns to work when my hair will not do what I want it too! Because I don't have heaps of time in the morning, I have limited time to spend on my hair so this is a quick and easy fix that suits work attire perfectly.

I ususally prefer high, messy buns because I think any other type can sometimes make me look too young! I think that curly / wavy hair looks better with this hairstyle because it gives the bun a bit more volume and it makes the look not too 'tight'.

How to achieve this look.

1. Pull your hair into a high pony tail.

2. When you are putting the hair tie around the hair, don't pull the hair all the way through, instead wrap the hair tie around it a couple of times to form a bun shape.

3. Pull the bun to make the bun not so tight.

(NB: This is the way I do my messy buns but you might have your own way)
 4. A bit of hairspray and your done! 

I choose to pin my fringe back so that it does not annoy me during the day and I also think it looks cuter that way :) 




2. Side Pony Plait
This is another quick and easy hairsyle. I think this hairstyle works better with straight hair (maybe 2nd day) so that there is not too much volume up the top. (I have layers so it looks like I have a mini bob if there is too much curl!)

How to Achieve this look

1. Pull your hair into a side pony tail and secure with a hair tie - I prefer not to use a thick hair tie as a thinner hair tie can make it less little girlish.

2. Plait the pony tail at about a medium tension. Secure with a hair tie.

3. Gently pull at the plait to loosen it up - make sure you don't pull to much!!


Plaited Headband


I love this hairstyle because it keeps all of the hair off of my face but is not too harsh. This looks much nicer on straight hair.


How to achieve this look...

1. Seperate a section of hair behind each ear and plait right down to the bottom and secure.

2. Tie the rest of the hair up in a high pony tail.

3. Place the plaits so they form a headband and pin in place.
 

- J x
 
Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.

29/05/2012

NOTD - Pastel Flowers

I've been feeling a little bit under the weather lately so I decided to do a pastel flowers pattern on my nails to cheer me up!


Little bit cutesy!




 
I used Revlon's Lilac Pastelle #185 and Mint #85, Butter London's Trout Pout, BYS' French White #12 and as always, Kiss Glass Top Coat.

1. I applied 2 coats of Lilac Pastelle to my nails and let them dry.
2. Using a bobby pin, I used Mint and Trout Pout to create flower shapes on my nails - I dot for the centre and 5 dots for the petals.
3. For the centre of the flower, I used French White and dotted in the centre of the flowers.
4. I finished off the look with a top coat.

Inspired by this tutorial here.

- J x

Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.

Motivational List...

I have been inspired by my current favourite beauty guru Louise aka Sprinkle of Glitter to create a motivational list for life - or more appropriately this weekend haha. 

Her post was about 7 things in 7 days but I am going to start my motivational list with "a few things in 1 weekend".

So...here are a few things I would love to achieve this weekend.

A little bit of DIY

1. Cute pots


I saw these on Pinterest and am so keen to make them.











How cute are they! I am not sure what to put in them though. I would love to grow herbs and vegetables but I think the pots look really cute little, and if I chose vegetables I would need bigger pots!...hmm decisions decisions.

2. Pretty Flower Hair Accessories

Also a Pinterest inspiration, I think that these flowers would look really cute as hair accessories. 


I don't really have any cute hair accessories but I am pretty excited to try these out and see what they look like!

More General Things...
 
3. Organise housey things

When I moved out of home I was so keen to get organised with everything, but recently I have been a bit on the slack side. This weekend I would really love to get organised and get into some kind of pattern with housework, food etc etc. You don't realise until you move out how much you actually relied on your parents for things (well in my case anyway!). If I was having a bad day or felt sick I knew mum would organise dinner, do the washing and so on. Now I have to fend for myself!

4. And finally...get up to date with my Study

I have just started my Cert 4 in Business Administration and while I am really excited to study again, the OHS unit has really got me unmotivated to study.  I really need to get this unit out the way so that I can move on to a few more interesting units!

You can find Louise's original post here.

- J x

Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.

26/05/2012

NOTD - Sparkly Glitter Mani


Just a little sparkly Saturday "I should really be studying" mani...





To achieve this mani, I used Sally Hensen's Double Duty base & top coat, The bottom half of my Dazzle Me! eyeshadow and body shimmer and, as always, my Kiss Glass Top Coat.

1. Use nail guides or tape on your nails
2. Apply a coat of the base coat. While this is still wet, use a brush to apply the shimmer to your nails.
3. Let them set and finish off with a top coat.

NB: Make sure you have something underneath your nails as the glitter will go everywhere!

- J x
 
Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.

24/05/2012

NOTD - Leopard Tips

I came up with this idea while I was in the shower (as you do). I was originally just going to do a plain old french manicure when I suddenly thought how cool would it be to do leopard print tips!


I think they turned out pretty well :) They are something a bit different without being over the top.



I am absolutely loving Sally Henson's Maximum Growth and have definitely noticed my nails are stronger.



2. Position the strips so they are only covering the tips of your nails (I turned them long ways)
3. Finish off with a top coat of your choice (You should know by now mine is the Kiss Top Coat from my Kiss Manicure Kit.

- J x
 
Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.

22/05/2012

NOTD - Mint Green Spotty Nails

This is a quick and easy mani that can be done with whatever colours you wish!


There is a trend with nails at the moment to make the finger next to the pinkie (I'm sure it has a proper name) different to all the others. I think this is so pretty as you are able to be a bit more experimental with that finger without it looking too much.





1. Using Revlon's Minted (#85) I applied 2 coats to all my nails except for the finger next to my pinkies.
2. On the finger next to my pinkies, I applied 2 coats of BYS' French White (#12)
3. Once the white polish dried, I used my new dotting tool and Revlon's Minted nail polish to create mint green spots on the white polish.
4. I finished it off by applying my Kiss top coat.

I tried my new mineral makeup by AVON today and was surprised at how much I liked it. I may do a bit of a "lookbook" for it in the next couple of days.

- J x

Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.


21/05/2012

New purchases!

I am a little bit excited because a few things were on my doorstep & in my letterbox when I arrived home today!!!

Since I have been a little bit into nail art lately, I purchased some nails brushes from eBay. I can't wait to start using them - I might even try tonight!


The other thing I was a little bit excited about was my AVON order. They had a promotion where if you spend $15, you would get a mineral makeup pack for $30.


I have never really tried mineral makeup before so I am very interested to see what it turns out like! I will try and use it tomorrow and write a post about it. Although the lipstick is an absolutely stunning colour, truthfully I am a bit scared of it! I am not sure I can pull off such a bright colour but we will see :)

How trippy is the mascara brush!!


Excitinggggg!!

- J x
 
Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.

20/05/2012

NOTD - Pastel Nails

I am a little bit in love with pastel colours and so I decided to do a bit of a pastel mani on my nails.


I think these are really cute :)





For this look, I used Trout Pout by Butter London, Lilac Pastelle (#185) and Minted (#85) by Revlon and French White (#12) by BYS for the tips.

1. Paint your nails alternate colours.
2. Once they are dry, use sticky tape or nail tip guides and paint a diagonal shape with the white polish.

So so easy!

Inspired by this picture.

- J x
 
Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.

19/05/2012

NOTD - "Colour Blocking"

I went over to visit my bestie Lisa this afternoon because she got laser eye surgery done on Thursday!! Scary stuff if you ask me. Anyway, we decided to paint her nails and this is what we came up with!!
Photography by Lisa!



We decided to use bright colours - Fruit Tingle by NYC, Hot Stuff by Chi Chi and a black and top coat from Rimmel London.

1. Chose a colour as a base coat - we chose Hot Stuff.
2. Paint diagonals on your nails using the second colour (Fruit Tingle)
3. Use the black to create stripes!
4 Finish with a top coat.

Whilst her nails look really cool, here is the end result for mine...


Hmm...time for a new mani I think!!

- J x
 
Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.

18/05/2012

NOTD - Colourful Nails

So I had a bit of a big, tiring, emotional day today and needed some colour to cheer me up. Here's what I came up with...

Colourful tips!!



Quick, easy and pretty cute :)







You can use whatever colours you want! I used Raspberry Rays, Beaming Violet and Vivid Fuchsia by Natio, and Sky's the Limit (#266) and Shimmer Carbbean Crush (#242) by BYS.
1. Using my tip guides from my Kiss Manicure Kit, I applied them to the tips of my nails and painted each nail a different colour.
2. Let them dry and remove the tip guides.
3. I used my Kiss Top Coat to make them look shiny!
Inspired from this picture.

- J x
 
Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.

Birthday Nails!

It's my friends birthday today so we decided to paint her nails all pretty to celebrate!


How gorgeous do they look!!




I used Starlette (#134) and Sky's the Limit (#266) from BYS. 2 coats of each (you can do more for the sparkles, depending on how sparkly you want the nail polish to be)

Inspired by this picture.

P.S. Happy Birthday Ash!!

- J x
 
Please click here to see my disclaimer policy.