Hey guys, it's been a while but I'm pretty excited. I've just made my first order from Shop Dixi! 

And I cannot wait for the pieces to arrive.

Shop Dixi is a jewellery brand for the wanderlust-ing lovers and fighters of the world.

Personally, I have actually been following this brand for quite some time now. I first saw their pieces appear when they first popped up on Gypsylovinlight's beautiful instagram feed.

I've been lusting after a vast majority of their pieces because honestly who wouldn't. I love silver and I love crystals and most of their pieces have either or both of these elements. So, for me, this store is absolutely right up alley!

On top of that, I have just stumbled across their Youtube account, where they have put up some pretty dreamy videos for some of their collections. I'm going to link them below with a couple of photos because they are just so, so beautiful.

Anyway these guys are currently having a sample sale, so if you are interested you should go over and check their site out and ASAP. (Because I don't know how much longer the sale will be on.) You can also use the code SAMPLE50 to get a further 50% off on top of their sample prices. It's unreal! I know >.<

I'll post pictures of my loot when it arrives!

Until next time!

Peace out lovely people xx

P.S. I wasn't sponsored for this blog post. (Incase you were wondering). 

I just really like their stuff a lot. 

So i'd been eyeing up the Australis' Velour Lips & Metallix eyeshadow collections for quite some time now and finally made a purchase last fortnight! Here's what I think:

Metallix Eyeshadows

After seeing a rave review about these shadows, I had to try them out! They looked so intense and beautiful and for those that know me well, I have a bit of an obsession with anything that glitters or shimmers.
In the past, i've had problems with cream shadows where they have been really inconsistent when it comes to application and it really annoyed the hell out me but that wasn't the case with these shadows. These shadows really are as intense as they look and I'm so over the moon about it! They are super creamy with a great colour pay off and they just glide right onto the eyes with perfect consistency. I am in love!
I picked up these shadows in every shade except Lana Del Grey, which was a lilac grey colour that I did not think that I would wear very often. It is still quite lovely if you want to look it up though.

From left to right: Plum Diddy, Jay Zed, Gold Gaga, Guns and Rose Petals & Pearl Jammin'.

Again with flash.

Pearl Jammin'

Pearl Jammin' is (as you guessed) a pearl colour. It's really light and close to a silver shade with the tiniest touch of a pale pink.

Guns and Rose Petals

Guns and Rose Petals is meant to be a rose gold shade but it looks like it should have it's title switched with Gold Gaga because when swatched it comes out far more gold that the latter. It also looks more like gold in the pot too.

Gold Gaga

Now if you look closely at Gold Gaga, it appears to be more of a bronze/rose gold like colour as opposed to gold. But regardless, I still think that both Guns and Rose Petals and Gold Gaga are beautiful. 

Jay Zed

This shade along with Plum Diddy are my current favourites! Jay Zed is a khaki brown and a shade that I had never really tried before. I love how much it compliments my skin tone though.

Plum Diddy

My other favourite shade from this collection is a brown plum shade. This shade is the most intense of all the Metallix colours.

Velourlips Matte Creme

I originally wanted to buy so many shades from this collection but I decided to play it safe and only start with three. I picked Shang-hi, Bar-tha-lona and Mi-a-mee. All of these shades had an intense colour payoff and i'll let the swatches show you the rest.

From left to right: Shang-hi, Bar-tha-lona & Mi-a-mee.

Mi-a-mee

Bar-tha-lona

Shang-hi

Overall, I'm extremely happy with my purchase as all products from Australis are a real bargain for what they are. Let me know what you think and if you have or are considering picking up any of these products as i'd love to hear what you think of them too. Or if you have any recommendations of other similar products you think I might like please leave a comment below as I'd love to check them out!

Thanks and take care guys.

J. xo

Shirt: Thrifted, Jeans: ASOS, Boots: Dr. Martens

Some jeans, a pair of boots and a clean shirt. It's timeless! This combo is perfect for a lazy day or when you're in a rush. Let's thank Coco Chanel for revolutionising pants for women and Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss for bringing denim jeans into existence. Praise to you all!

Here are my favourite beauty products from the previous month:

IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Matte Eyeshadow Palette Vol. 1

I use at least one shade from this palette on a daily basis. (Usually Sheer Joy as a brow bone highlight. It is an absolute delight!)  I love the range of natural matte shades this palette offers and for “$42” from Sephora this palette was a bargain. (For Australian prices). The colours, whilst pigmented, are so blend-able that its possible to sit there and blend them out to nothing. This makes the palette great for beginners. I will do a more in depth review of this palette with swatches soon.

bareminerals MarvelousMOXIE lipgloss in Maverick

 I've only just started re-embracing glosses after cutting my hair. Before cutting my hair, the wind + gloss + long hair situation was too much for me as it does get quite windy where I live.
This particular gloss was given to me as a christmas gift. At first, I didn't think the colour would suit me at all. However, this colour is absolutely dead on perfect! Although it's has a slight shimmer to it, this shade is flattering and quite natural looking. (Well, as natural as a gloss can look.) But I think that the colour is just 100% perfect for everyday wear. It's a bit darker and browner than my natural lip colour but I love it! It has easily become one of my go to colours when i'm on the run and pretty much lives in my bag with Mac's 'Twig'. It is also one of those stinging lip plumping glosses. (If you're into that.)

MAC Kelly Osbourne 219SE Pencil brush

I picked up this brush at a sale randomly. I literally picked it up and thought, “I don’t have one of these, it looks useful, i’ll get it”. And how amazingly useful it has been! I don’t even know how I had been living without this brush. 

Blusher brush
I think this just randomly made it into the picture for stability. Just a normal everyday blusher brush, not much to see here.

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW SPF 25 Brightening Makeup Liquid Foundation

This is not my everyday foundation but it definitely does what it says it does and brightens up my face a bit more than my normal day to day foundation. I've noticed it's a tiny bit more yellow that my usual foundation so I usually use this during periods when i've had more sun. Coming into the cooler months, I'm starting to notice a larger difference between my skin and this shade now as my skin loses its summer glow.

Bobbi Brown CC Cream in Warm Nude w/ SPF 35

This is what I wear when I’m 1) in a hurry and 2) somewhere casual where I don’t want to be wearing a whole lot of makeup. With sheer coverage, it gives my skin life and extra protection from the sun. What more could you want?

Benefit They’re Real Push-up Gel Liner

It really took me some time to figure out how to use this. I’d turn the clicker to load the product and it would work on paper but not my face, it was absolutely befuddling for so long. Eventually, I was able to work it out though. I like how this liner allows me to create a thinner line closer to the lashes than I can achieve with liquid, which I usually end up splashing everywhere. (I have a hard time keeping still, sometimes.)

Mac Mineralise Multi Effect Lash Mascara

This is now my everyday mascara. I got it in a sample bag at a fashion seminar but I love it because its super liquidy and lengthens my lashes. I don't think it does much for volume though but I have other mascaras I'll use for that.

Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in L’ecole Des Femmes

This is my most recent purchase from this post and only just makes the April cut. I’ve been so attracted to corals this season despite winter coming up in a month. The colour pinker than usual for a coral. I found it unique to many of the corals already existing in my collection, so naturally I had to have it.

MAC Satin Finish Lipstick in Twig

Another one of my everyday favourite colours. This colour is so flattering and I love it. I’ll usually wear it to work where I try to keep my makeup as natural looking as possible. Again this colour is just a bit darker and browner than my natural colour but it has a much lighter pink undertone than the Marvellous Moxie gloss I also frequent. 

Luma Natural Beauty by Jess Hart Illuminating Highlighter

This is by far the best illuminator i’ve come by as it’s not too obvious with the shimmer. It gives this believable dewy glow to your cheeks and thats what you need on those days you want to give the impression “I just woke up like this!”.

Benefit Feeling Dandy Lip & Cheek Kit

-PosieTint Lip Tint
I do prefer the regular red lip tint that Benefit does (Bene-tint) but this colour isn't so bad, it's just barely there on me though. I only get the slightest pink tint from it.

-High Beam Highlighter
I have both this and Sunbeam and I love both! High Beam is more of a pink/silver highlighter and Sun Beam gives more of a bronze/gold glow. Both are more shimmery than the previously mentioned Luma Highlighter.

-Ultra Plush Dandelion Lipgloss
This is a pretty good standard gloss, as i've mentioned earlier I didn't really use glosses much in the past because of my super long hair. But I do use this over drier lipsticks that need some added moisture.

-Dandelion Blush
This is the highlight of this kit! For a while there i couldn't bring myself to use this blush as it was too pretty but eventually I did and it is absolutely wondrous! It gives me this beautiful romantic glow and I love it.

Do you agree or disagree?

What are some of your favourite beauty products at the moment?

Also i'm looking for a good lip primer, if anyone could recommend one for me that would be amazing!

Thanks guys,

J. xo

If you are on Pinterest and Instagram, you may have seen more than just a few versions of the choker below.

Screen-grabbed via Instagram:  chockchoker, longstoryshortboutique, dunkellichtgesalt, shopshaghag.

 When I first saw this choker, I fell in love with the feminine vs. hardware feel of it and decided that I had to have one. However, just short of making a purchase, I realised that I had all the materials I needed to make my own choker just lying around my room.

So I decided to make do with what I already had and made my own choker and i'm about to show you how you can easily make one too.

All up, this process took me 20-30 minutes. It's super quick and super easy.

I did not buy any new products for this DIY. I only used what I already had lying around but i'll show you what I started with and where I originally got the items from.

You Will Need:

1. Kangaroo Leather Lacing - for the 'chain' part of the choker.
• I originally bought this from a fabric store and i'm sure you can find similar at either a fabric store or an arts and crafts store. 
2. Super Glue
• Or a hot glue gun. Both are easy to find at a 2 dollar store or an arts & craft store.
3. Crystals
• I have over 250 crystals, so I had a lot to spare, I originally was going to wrap and use the Quartz crystal, but then I found the pre wrapped Amethyst, ready to go.
• Crystals are luckily easier to find than they used to be. I know that if you are in Australia there are numerous places you can pick up crystals inexpensively, such as Tree of Life markets, and random nicknack stores. 
4. A Keyring
•  If you don't happen to have one lying around, a two dollar would most definitely have a keyring.
5. Scissors
6. Pliers
7. Pencil or Marker for taking measurements.
8. A Ruler
9. Velcro
10. A little bit of patience whilst waiting for glue to dry.

Optional:

1. Wire - For Crystal Wrapping (If you don't have a pre-wrapped crystal.)
2. Jump Rings
• I got these from the 2 dollar shop and I didn't even end up using them, I wanted to fashion some sort of closure from these but didn't have all the parts necessary.

STEP 1: (if your crystal is not pre wrapped then wrap your crystal with wire first.)

• Attach the crystal to the keyring.

STEP 2:

• Measure out how long you want your choker to be. To find out how much leather lacing you will need, hold the leather lacing around your neck like a choker and then measure it against a ruler being sure to add 1cm x 4 for each end of your choker.
• Make a mark on your lacing at half way and at 1cm in on each end.
• You can cut the lacing at the half way point now or you can cut it after the next step.

STEP 3:

• Glue the two ends of the lacing to the keyring. To do this, line up your keyring at the mark you made 1cm in from the end and fold it over the keyring. You will need to hold the ends steady with pliers until the glue is dry enough to not pull apart. 
• Glue the other end to the other side of the keyring, remembering to carefully line it up so that it is at the same level as the first end.

STEP 4:

• If you didn't cut the lacing at the half way point, cut it now.

STEP 5: Creating a closure.
As you can probably see in my equipment flat-lay I went into this DIY not thinking of how I would make a closing for this choker. My jump rings were not big enough for a wire closing so I fished out a roll of velcro and used that instead.

• Cut the velcro into pieces small enough to superglue to the lacing. Like the previous steps, use pliers to hold the velcro steady until the glue is dry enough.

And now you're done! It was really that easy!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

Let me know what you think and let me know if it was okay to follow. Also I'd love to hear what you're favourite DIYs are! Leave a comment and let me know below!

Thanks and peace out!

j. xo

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