All that glitters IS gold

Another little treat I got for my birthday was one of the new stylo eyeshadows by CHANEL, from my friend Julia. I'd seen these a few weeks ago and was drawn to them like a magpie. They were part of the new summer collection and I also "oooh"-ed over the new metallic/pearlescent blue nail polishes they'd just brought out.

The collection is inspired by butterflies, and the colours are very shimmery and tropical. The stylo eyeshadow I got was in Cool Gold. They can be used on the eyelids or as an eyeliner and you can be as bold and experimental as you like. I love gold eyeshadows. I have green eyes and I think gold really compliments their colour, and it's a shade that works just as well in summer as in winter.

 

The first thing I noticed when I applied this was the lovely cooling effect it had on my eyes. It felt refreshing, like a little wake-me-up for tired eyes. The pigmentation in this is very good and when I first smoothed it over my eyelid it came out so bright I panicked a little. But after a bit of blending it was a lot less dramatic. I think you could have lots of fun with these and create a great statement eye look, or you could play it safe like me and blend until you feel happy.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this. Has anyone else tried any of the Chanel summer make-up collection?

Feeling too hot hot hot!

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Oh this warm weather is getting a bit too much for little ol' me. Don't get me wrong, I love a sunny day but I actually much prefer a sunny Autumn day to a Summer one - those kinda days where you're not too cold but you can still layer up a tiiiny bit. Is that just me?

I get irritated when it's too warm, I never know what to wear and I can just never be bothered to do ANYTHING. It's kinda hard to believe I was born in Australia because I really was not built for this kind of weather. I've forgotten what it feels like to be cold!

Go easy on me, Mr Sunshine.

Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom & Honey Cologne

One of my birthday presents was this laaarvely Jo Malone perfume. I've only recently got into these - my Mum has been raving about them for months but I was always too blinded by my love of all things Chanel to see (or rather, smell) how good they are.

I went into the shop in York a few weeks ago with my Mum, fell in love and picked out a favourite - Lime Basil & Mandarin. I decided I wanted a fruity summery scent as all of my perfumes are floral or musky. I found it surprisingly difficult to find a fruity scent but Jo Malone have a lovely selection of fruity and citrus fragrances. This one smelt like a tropical island (description stolen from my Mum). I couldn't get enough of it!

I dropped a few subtle hints to my boyfriend as it was pretty close to my birthday although I wasn't sure he'd be able to remember the name and thought he'd probably get a little overwhelmed trying to choose one by himself. So I really didn't expect the pretty Jo Malone bag with black ribbon to be placed in front of me on the morning of my birthday. Eeek!

The first thing I noticed when I opened the cute box was that he'd bought me the bigger (and rather expensive) bottle, and then that he'd got a different one to the one I'd originally picked out. It was the Nectarine Blossom & Honey cologne. He told me that he couldn't remember which one I'd said that I liked and so chose one himself and BOY was I impressed!

I think I like this one even more than the one I chose first. It smells SO yummy and makes me feel so happy whenever I spritz it on. It's quite a light, refreshing fragrance with just the right amount of fruitiness. It just smells like Summer, fruit salads and cocktails on the beach. I think I'm a little addicted and have worn it every day since my birthday. As an added bonus, the bottle looks SO perdy sat on my dressing table.

So the moral of this blog post is to trust your boyfriend's perfume choices (sometimes over your own), and get this bottle of summery goodness in your life now! It'll last much longer than the brief English Summer.

Anyone else have any Jo Malone favourites?

Birthday week

So it's my birthday this Sunday (30th) and even though I really don't want to be 25 I've decided I'm going to just embrace it and enjoy the celebrations!

I'm going to London next week for 3 days with my boyfriend. It's kind of a birthday thing as it was his birthday on the 20th and we've been going for a few years now. I'm looking forward to lots of yummy food and cocktails, and just being in London is good fun anyway, isn't it? We're going to go on the London Eye as we've never been on before so that will be good, and hopefully not scary. Other than that we don't have too many set plans. I can sometimes be a little tour-guide-esque and feel the need to know what we're doing each day but I think I'm just going to be spontaneous and see where the days take us :)

What do you like to do in London? Any hidden gems anyone knows about?

Photographic memories

I was looking through a big ol' pile of photos at my Mum's the other day and I felt so nostalgic, looking back at memories from all the years past and smiling thinking about that day or that moment in time.

It got me thinking... with everything being digital now, we (well, I at least) don't 'develop' photos anymore. Some people may be really good at printing out every photo they take but I admit I'm not so good at this. I'll maybe print the odd few, if I want to give them to family or frame them but I never just print a load off aiming to pop them in a photo album to create memories years down the line. Looking at photos on a computer screen is nice but there's nothing better than holding actual photographs in your hands. In 10, 20 years time will I have piles of old photos to look through like I do from my childhood? Or will they all be stored on a computer, or an SD card somewhere? Takes away some of the magic dontcha think?

I've also realised that apart from taking the odd photo on my phone, I don't capture memories anymore. I can't really remember the last time I got my camera out and took some photos of my friends/family/boyfriend/etc. However this may be because my current digital camera is infuriatingly USELESS. So I have decided that at the end of the month I'm going to buy a new digital camera so I can take lots of photos for me to sift through and remember the good old days in years to come.

After all, I'll only ever be this age, in this moment, once.

Take me away, a sweet escape...

After reading several blogs from people who've just got back from holiday, I am now itching for a break away somewhere. I'd like to go somewhere sunny and warm (but not too hot) and stay in a fabulous hotel, all luxurious and fancy!

The last place I went (out of the country) was Paris last September which was amazing, but I think next time I'd like a good sun holiday with pretty places to wander around and clear blue water and golden beaches... One of those holidays that leaves you feeling really relaxed and content.

So, I'm thinking a pretty Greek island... Santorini? Yes please!

Quarter life crisis?

I am 24 years old. On June 30th I will turn 25, and this kind of terrifies me. 25?! How did that happen? It seems like I blinked somewhere in my teenage years and suddenly I'm supposed to be a grown up and do grown up things and just... Grow up! Am I supposed to settle down and start having children, or should I just go with the flow and see what happens? But if I do that, will I end up being too old by the time I decide I do want kids? Arghh! Such turmoil. Which got me wondering... Is there such a thing as a quarter life crisis?

I do realise that I am in fact still very young and a crisis over my age sounds extremely melodramatic at this stage but I do wonder if there is a kind of transition period between young and... not so young. Recently, I've found that I've "rediscovered" a lot of things from my youth - books, TV shows, etc and delving back into that world has felt strangely therapeutic, but also made me a little sad that those years are now behind me. On the other hand, I've also been thinking more and more about the "grown-up" side of life - having children, and a husband and all that. This also terrifies me. Even though I don't feel like I'm ready for "real" adult life to begin, I also don't feel like a teenager anymore - as much as I miss it, I have moved past that stage. So basically, I'm kind of stuck somewhere in the middle. Limbo.

I once read an article in which the author said she hated her twenties because she didn't feel settled and only really began to accept herself in her thirties. So maybe that's it - once I hit the big three-oh I'll feel pretty sweet. But that idea is way too scary right now. 30... years... old... Excuse me whilst I go breathe into a paper bag.