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

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

The other night I was lucky enough to go to a themed party. I figured everyone I knew, that was going, would be putting a fair amount of effort in. So I decided to put more than my regular level of effort in as well.
This is what I came up with.

Somehow, I still managed to turn up in the same necklace, with a similar hairstyle and similar eye-makeup to my closest girl friend there.
But, they say great minds think alike! Haha, it' was still a ball!

Thanks for inviting me guys!

I want to know, what was the craziest themed party you've been to?

Let me know, by leaving a comment below.

j. xo

P.S. Apologises for the bathroom phone selfies. 

So while Spring is in full bloom in the northern hemisphere, here in Sydney we are preparing for a chilly winter. The last few weeks have been riddled with torrential rain and storms, however this week we have been blessed with some warmer weather. Warm enough to leave the legs bare and wear this delicate but warm ensemble, which is a salute to the warmer seasons.

Hat: Sportsgirl, Cardigan: Market HQ, Belt: Vintage, Dress: BeginningBoutique,
 Shoes: Rubi Shoes, Mandala Ring: The Fifth Element Life, 
Twist Ring: Magnolia, Elephant Ring: Market store

This outfit is a lot more feminine and dressier than I would usually dress on a day to day basis but on this day I had time to spare and decided to dress up a little more.

Close up of details. Wearing Uninvited on my nails from the Mac: Malificent Collection.

Attempted close up of makeup.

I decided to keep makeup fairly simple. However, it did not show up in photos hardly or at all. So, maybe i'll aim for a bit more of a flamboyant look next time. 

The look I had in mind for this outfit, was a natural/rosy romantic look.

I went for light coverage on the skin using Bobbi Brown CC cream and dusted the cheeks with Dandelion, a pale pink blush from Benefit. I applied Posietint by Benefit on the lips and used a pearl base on the eyes blending into a darker shimmery rose colour on the outer corners. I finished off the eyes with the Mac: Mineralise Multi-effect Lash mascara, which is a nice everyday mascara. 

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way this whole look turned out. Even the dodgy photos taken in my driveway. What do you think?

j. xo

The Met Gala/Ball is an annual fundraising gala for the benefit of the Metropolitation Mueseum of Art's Costume Institute or you may know it as that yearly red carpet event that all those celebs get really dressed up for. 

Each year has its own theme, which inspires much of the formal attire of the attending A-list who are expected to match the theme of the exhibit. This year the theme was China: Through the Looking Glass.

Sarah Jessica Parker





This outfit made both best and worst dressed lists. I honestly don't mind the head-dress and dress but I hate the shoes and accessories they've paired with this. 


Anne Hathaway

Simple, elegant, but also made the worst dressed lists.

Mary-Kate and Ashley

MK & A look like twins from the Game of Thrones nights watch.

Solange Knowles

Solange seems solely inspired by the exhibition part of the themed exhibition.

Rosie Huntington Smith

She looks amazing! But then, she always looks amazing. >.<

Kate Hudson

Joan Smalls

Karen Elson

Kendall Jenner

Rita Ora

Half Chinese inspired, half little red riding hood?

Brie Larson, Courtney Eaton and Annabelle Wallis

These queens look like they got dressed together, maybe they did. I will never know T_T

Rihanna

Ri-Ri takes the cake, for me!  
Rihanna attended in a hand sewn Chinese couture dress that took 2 years to sew! O_O

Check out her cute interview about the dress she is wearing: here.

Beyonce

Our queen, Beyonce, arrived late in the following 'naked' dress.

I don't quite get her homage to the theme but this is a killer dress and honestly i'm not sure that many others could pull it off quite like she does.

Except maybe Kim K, I kind of feel like this is boring for Kim K as it looks like one of the dresses she has worn previously, but it still looks amazing!

Kim K

FKA Twigs & Robert Patterson

These guys won best dressed couple! I love them both, but i'm unconvinced that this was a winning combo. That being said FKA Twigs also appeared on worst dressed lists. I think her dress is amazing I just don't like the way it's been styled this time around.

Jack O'Connell

Oh and strictly added just for my girlfriends. Look guys! Even Jack the Lad went!

There are many more amazing outfits from this event, so if you're interested in fashion, definitely give it a google!

These were just my picks as I couldn't fit 30 outfits in one post.

Peace out and until next time.

j. xo