For someone who only ever wears bold lips, trying out a sexy nude lip was a big step for me. Luckily I had Nicole Thompson from MAC helping me along the way! Nicole taught me a quick and easy way to rock a pout that Kim Kardashian would be proud of…watch and learn.

Lipstick – MAC in Secret Lover (from the MAC Me Over! Collection) – $36 – from MAC counters/stores

Lip liner – Rimmel 1000 Kisses in Wild Clover – $8.50 – from the supermarket (I got mine at Coles)

Lip gloss – Bare Escentuals Buxom in Krystal – ranges from $15-50 depending where you buy, and it’s hard to get hold of here in Aus, so if you know a supplier then leave a comment!

The MAC lipstick was offered to me for consideration in accordance with my disclosure policy, the Rimmel and Bare Escentuals were purchased with my hard-earned.

This Vanilla Mars Bar sat in my house for about 3 weeks before I finally ate it. I think I was building the anticipation up the whole time…‘surely the awesomeness of a Mars Bar plus the awesomeness of vanilla would equal awesome squared, right’ I told myself.

Not so.

When I eventually ate it, I was disappointed. Not like ‘oh man, the amazing Oscar De La Renta handbag I bought on ebay is actually a knock off’ kind of disappointment, but ‘this restaurant had a really good rating on yelp and the food is actually tasteless’ kind of disappointment. No harm done, but it’s always a sad face when something you have been looking forward to lets you down.

Price: $1.62 (give or take)
From: The Supermarket – I got mine from my local Coles

Like, big time obsession. I don’t know what it is. Not great honking skulls on t-shirts or candle holders or anything (apart from the sequin skull cushion - nothing subtle about that!) but more delicate and feminine skulls. Dainty, if you will.

I have picked up two bits of skull wrist candy recently and they are getting quite the workout.  The first is 15 little creme and brown skulls all threaded together to make a band of skulls (which sounds like a kickass metal band). I picked this one up for less than a twenny from Eden on Crown, a little dress shop on Crown St in Surry Hills that stocks their own brand, Alice Underground, plus some other affordable brands and LOADS of cool jewellery. There was no name on the tag or anything, so no idea who made it or where it came from, but they also had the same bracelet with mintgreen skulls.

Price: $19.95
From: Eden on Crown

The other is an ASOS brand ASOS purchase. It’s a single gold skull on a delicate gold chain, and I’m quite taken by this little baby. It actually came as a set of two with a small gold cross on black cord, but I don’t like that nearly as much as the skull. I also got another dainty gold bracelet from ASOS but I think I’m gonna do an ASOS haul video on my youtube channel at some stage, so I’ll show you there.

Price: $9.73
From: ASOS

So there you go. Skulls.

Updated to add: The day I posted this, I popped into Sportsgirl and saw they have skull bracelets like the one I got from Eden on Crown. But for half the price. Sucky.

Grab a paddle brush and get ready – we’re wrapping!

This tried and tested technique is perfect for getting a smooth, silky finish and lots of root lift. A splash of KMS California Add Volume adds extra lift – the higher the hair, the closer to heaven.

KMS California Add Volume Root & Body Lift – $31.95

My old Parlux 3800 Review

So…I got married.

It was amazing, absolutely perfect (didn’t rain, thank goodness) and so much fun. Having endured 18 months of wedding planning and the subsequent big day, I now feel somewhat qualified to offer up this advice.

Top 3 tips for surviving enjoying your wedding

1. Don’t go on your honeymoon straight away.
I swear I had just as much fun in the two weeks after the wedding as I did on the actual day (almost). We spent it catching up with friends and family, sharing photos, talking about what happened, laughing over special moments and generally reliving the day. If you have family coming from overseas or interstate, you probably won’t get to see them much before the day, and if you do you will probably be too preoccupied to enjoy it. Make a date to see them afterwards and actually get to enjoy their company.

2. Get a wedding coordinator
Having someone manage my big day for me meant I could actually enjoy it without stressing. My amazing wedding coordinator Nikki set up the venue, liaised with the florist/DJ/MC/photographer/food service, made sure everyone was where they were supposed to be, packed up at the end of the night, and was generally the go-to girl. People kept asking me things like ‘where is the film for the polaroid camera’ ‘how do I organise a taxi’ ‘where do I get a drink from’ and I was like ‘see Nikki’ ‘see Nikki’ ‘see Nikki’. It took a huge layer of stress off and I got to be the guest of honour instead of the host.

3. Thongs
I don’t care how seasoned you are at wearing heels, I guarantee that by 9pm you won’t be able to stand anymore. I took my shoes off and switched to Havaianas, and was able to dance the night away with a huge smile on my face. I got lots of jealous looks from all my friends who had to suffer in their stilettos (until they just took them off – well played, girls).

Thank you to everyone who sent tweets of congratulations over the last few weeks. It really has been the most marvelous time and I have loved it all. But most importantly, I’m now married to my best friend. And we’re going to New York for 3 weeks to celebrate!

Top image courtesy of our amazing photographer Vincent Lai, flowers from Judy at Juds Buds

Oh look! A post! Seriously, I explain my extended absence in the video, but I’ll give you a hint…it starts with W, ends with edding, and is happening in 2 weeks.

The deets:

Shoes are Christian Dior Cannage Quilted Peep Toe Pumps – I paid $660US at Neiman Marcus Ala Moana

Earrings are Samantha Wills Amour Noir from the Samantha Wills Bridal Collection – I paid $99 + $9 shipping from Eve Boutique

Can we talk for a sec? We can?! Marvelous. I know how stressful the week before Christmas is. The boss is chasing you to wrap up those last minute projects even though you have mentally checked out already, the shops are a nightmare, the house is covered in glitter, the post office lost your etsy order, and you could really do with an extra nights sleep. You’re also living in a constant cycle of sugar high-sugar crash, lather rinse repeat, from the endless supply of festive sweets. Sadly, this post won’t help with that last problem.

If you’re like me and you hang out for Easter because it means Turkish Delight eggs and Lindt bunnies, then you’re gonna love this. I can’t help with the Turkish Delight eggs, but Lindt are doing a Christmas Teddy Bearthis year and it’s just like the bunny but cuter. He’s a handsome gold bear with a red bow and a red heart tied around his neck – so dashing (and delicious). In added-bonus news, I spotted him on sale in Target on the weekend for $5 (normally $5.49). That’s not many gold coins for 100g of beautiful, creamy Lindt milk chocolate. Grab one to go in every stocking next weekend. I did. Everyone gets a bear! You get a bear! And you get a bear! And you get a beaaaar!

If you want a bit of a variety with your chocolate bears (it is the spice of life, after all) Lindt have also produced a mini set of 5 baby bears, a little block of mini bars that have interchangeable heads and bottoms to keep you amused while you eat (they kinda remind me of those old Cadbury Furry Friends, but way better) and then a set of baby bears that are like kinder chocolate – milk on the outside and filled with creamy white goodness.

I know I have been majorly slack with blogging lately (wedding – tick, lots of work – tick, Christmas – tick) but I had to jump on to tell you about the amazing, wonderful, inspiring workshop I did at Launchpad Youth.

Launchpad Youth provides housing and support to disadvantaged teens and young adults – kids who have ended up on hard times, on the street, in domestic violence situations, pregnant…each has their own story to tell. I wanted to get involved with these kids, so some of the amazing beauty brands I work with loaded me up with beauty products and I conducted a two hour workshop with a group of the most gorgeous and loving girls I have ever met. We talked, we laughed, we shared advice, and we connected over a shared love of beauty products. I espoused some of the wisdom I have collected along the way, and the girls bombarded me with questions as we discussed the pros and cons of bold lips, how to use setting powder, the perfect top knot, and why water plus eyeshadow equals excellent liquid liner.

One of the girls even taught me a new hair trick, and this was one I have definitely never encountered before – ‘how to get leopard print hair’. She explained that to get a leopard print effect in her hair when it was shaved short on the sides, she cut cheetos in half, dipped them in dye, and pressed them against her hair in the desired pattern. Genius, right? Such a clever little cupcake.

I discovered a new use for Cheetos

I can’t thank Launchpad enough for having me, and I can’t wait to do it again. I have to give a massive shout out to the brands and PR agencies who helped make it possible – True Solutions, Saunders & Co, Sweaty Betty, PR Chicks and OPI nail polish. Also, to the blogging community who supported me – Cosmetic Cupcake, Plastic Diaries, SASSYBELLA.com, Ms Critique, Hard Pretty Things - you girls continue to inspire me.

Finally, cheers for a great evening girls! Jamie, I can’t wait to see you master the smoky eye.

My hair can be pretty annoying sometimes – it’s long, fine, brown, and breaks pretty easily. But my sisters hair is -er than mine – longer, finer, blonder. It also knots ridiculously easy – she just has to look out the window at a breeze and it tangles in anticipation.

When Tangle Teezer sent me two Tangle Teezer’s to try, I immediately passed one on to her (I’m nice like that). I kept the Original for myself, which is just the regular brush, and gave her the Compact, which is the brush with a cap that fits over the top of it so you can chuck it in your handbag and not damage the bristles. As well as these two, there is also the Flowerpot, which is a flower shaped brush that sits in a little flowerpot – perfect for little girls, and would probably make an excellent Christmas gift.

From the very first run through my hair I was impressed by the Tangle Teezer – it’s a really simple idea. A small handheld brush with hundreds of soft plastic teeth at two different lengths that carefully brush and de-tangle hair without pulling, stressing or breaking hair. For the two weeks after I gave my sister the Tangle Teezer, pretty much every phone conversation we had went like this:

“Hello”
“Oh hey, you know that brush thing you gave me…”
“The Tangle Teezer?”
“Yeah, it’s awesome. Life changing. SO AMAZING”
“That’s great, did you ring me for anything else?”
“Nope, that’s it”

I think she likes it.

And then yesterday she called me to tell me that her friend who has hair extensions also bought a Tangle Teezer and has also been raving about it (another tedious phone conversation ensued). The bristles are so soft that they glide over the little clips and balls, but still work perfectly to smooth out extensions, and in all the years her friend has had extensions, this is the best thing she has ever used.

There you go. Three ringing endorsements in one post.

Tangle Teezer Professional Detangling Brush
Price: $29.95 for the Original, $34.95 for the Compact and Flowerpot
From: Phoenix Nationale Pro Salon Supplies – check their salon locator or buy online (I know in my area they are stocked at Barney Martin, Wild Life Hair, Brad Ngata, Toni & Guy, Stevie English, Headcase, Atlantis and Joh Bailey…all the big names)
Why you need it: Knots, be gone! Especially good if you have a whingey child who hates getting their hair brushed (like my sister and I when we were younger)

This product was offered to Stuff That I Bought for editorial consideration – for more details, see our disclosure policy

So, random story,  I went to visit one of the gorgeous girls from one of my favourite PR agencies a couple of weeks ago (Hi Charlotte!). We were enjoying a coffee and piece of cake when she told me that there were Melissa shoes on sale at SPACE, which happened to be where I had parked my car (she even described exactly where in the store they were, to make my life easy).

After trying on a couple of pairs of shoes and generally poking around the store for a bit (seriously, SPACE is awesomesauce) I figured I should head home. Or…maybe….I could just pop into Domayne quickly. I justified the exercise by claiming it was a) just that, exercise and b) looking for “something” for my wedding (I don’t need anything, but don’t tell my brain that).

On the way into the store I spotted a linen cushion with a silver sequin skull on it displayed in a little vignette. I went searching for it – I had to have that cushion! I found the rest of the range in the Christmas section (limited edition for Christmas FYI – when I think Christmas, I usually think silver sequin skulls) – there was a tote bag and a purse but no cushion. I asked the girl at the counter and she said there was no cushion in the range! LIES! Did my eyes deceive me? No, I went back to the front of the store and hung dangerously over an escalator to pull the cushion out of the display myself. Success, and I didn’t even lose a limb.

It’s not exactly a ‘cuddle up on the couch’ kind of cushion; more a ‘look but don’t touch’. But that’s ok, I’m very much enjoying looking at it.

Cheeky Cushion Cover (not sure why the good peeps at Domayne called it ‘Cheeky’…?)
Price: $59.95
From: Domayne
Why you need it: Cos it’s rad