Beauty and the Bleach

Oh to have the luxurious, sun kissed hair of a Victoria's Secret model! That's the dream folks. Many a brunette babe has felt the irresistible pull towards the hairdresser's chair and their bleach kit. I've had balayaged hair for almost a year now (I used to go to the truly excellent Balayage Hair Studio back home) and I firmly believe that once you start highlighting your hair, it's very hard to stop. Maybe there's something addictive in ammonia fumes but there's just something about having lighter hair... perhaps blondes really do have more fun. That being said, bleached hair is much like having a very high maintenance pet - you have to wash, feed and groom it in the hopes that someone will tell you it's pretty! *Sigh*

Ciate ColourFoil Manicure Tutorial + Review

Now this is a post I've been meaning to put up for weeks now. I've just been too busy/lazy to write it up and post it. My bad! I bought this Very ColourFoil Manicure kit at Kit Cosmetics at enex100 a couple of months ago and was super excited to give it a whirl. Ciate always comes up with innovative nail art kits that always look gorgeous but may not be the most practical things in the world (Caviar nails, I;m looking at you!). Read on for the tutorial!

DIY Cocoa Butter Milk Bath

Continuing on with my obsession with DIY beauty treatments; and also because I have ridiculous amounts cocoa butter left, I give you: Cocoa Butter Milk Bath! Cleopatra was notorious for bathing in milk and apparently, so is Charlize Theron. Great company to keep if your ask me. Milk baths are great for dry skin as the lactic acid helps to loosen the proteins binding together the dead skin cells and this makes it easier to exfoliate them away. The cocoa butter helps to moisturise your skin (I've talked about how awesome cocoa butter is before so don't worry, I won't go on about it.) and not to mention, it smells delicious! This DIY is as simple as grating some cocoa butter, mixing it with some powdered milk and cornstarch and... that's it. That was quite anticlimactic actually. Read on for the recipe.

DIY Cocoa Lip Scrub

In anticipation on the blisteringly hot Perth summer and the blisteringly bright lip colours I hope to wear, I made a handy dandy lip scrub to whip my lips into shape. Winter was a cold hard mistress and my lips definitely suffered! I used to just give my lips a quick scrub with my toothbrush after brushing my teeth but I decided that this delicious sugar lip scrub is a way more fun way of getting the same job done! Read on for the recipe!

Matte vs Glossy Mani Tutorial

As Perth finally heads into it's most glorious time of year; summer, I thought I'd give moody winter nails one last hurrah before giving in to 6 months of neons brights and pretty pastels. Today's tutorial is super duper quick and easy and all you need is a matte topcoat. You could even use this to refresh a fading mani! The effect is very subtle but unfortunately, as anyone who's used a matte polish before will know, short-lived. Hand creams, body lotion and generally living your life tends to dull the matte effect. Boo! And for those lucky enough to reside somewhere that truly appreciates the sanctity of Halloween; wouldn't this be an awesome mani to get you into the Halloween spirit? Read on for the tutorial!

Cat Eye Liquid Liner and False Eyelash Tutorial

My go-to eye makeup look is the good old liquid liner cat eye. It can be glammed up or pared back as much as you like. I don't like to mess around with eyeshadow in my day to day because I'm super lazy and this look tricks people into thinking I actually put in some effort. Clever or what? When I want to step it up a notch, I throw on a pair of false eyelashes and a bit of illuminator and call it a day. My old mate Adele up here knows what's up! Sure, she's got some hardcore contouring and highlighting happening but the headline act is definitely the slick liner and lash job there. Check out my tutorials after the jump!

DIY: IKEA Cake Stand

After a recent trip to IKEA with my cousin (meatballs and homeware...unbeatable combination) I was inspired to make this ridiculously easy cake stand out of a candlestick holder and a candle dish. You can see my cake stand in action in my Cathedral Window Jelly post. 

Eyebrows: There should be two!

If there's one facial feature I'm absolutely fanatical about; almost to the point of obsession, it would be eyebrows. To me, Miss Megan Fox has UNBELIEVABLY perfect eyebrows; dark, defined and highly arched. In my opinion, eyebrows can make or break a look; they frame your eyes and balance your face. For lack of a better word, they just make you look very finished. 

Now because I spent the better part of my teenage years plucking my eyebrows into utter oblivion, I obviously can't grow the lush caterpillars required to emulate the lovely Ms Fox, but I can do a pretty good version if I do say so myself! Check it out after the jump!

1930's Half Moon Manicure Tutorial

So today I have a very simple nail art tutorial to show you; the classic half moon manicure. Dita Von Teese usually sports the traditional crimson version with a bare moon. I'm doing a bronze and burgundy version today. This is a deceptively easy nail art look that looks pretty darn impressive in my opinion!