19 April: Autumn Floral

Dress: Supre

Cardy: Garage @ The Warehouse

Tights: Garage @ The Warehouse

Shoes: Garage @ The Warehouse

Earrings: The Warehouse

Make up: Eyes - NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone, Sugarpill Chromalust loose eyeshadow in Tipsy, NYX Ultra Pearl Mania pigment in Grass Pearl, and CoverGirl LashBlastFusion mascara in Very Black; Lips - Darling Girl Cosmetics Rolling In The Deep; Face - Nivea Visage Young tinted moisturiser, and Australis concealer; Nails - OPI DS Reflection

There’s not really a lot to say about this outfit - it’s casual and not very exciting, but comfortable for a lazy Autumn day! I go back to uni on Monday. The last two weeks have gone too fast…

5 November: Bronze Bow

Dress: TradeMe (secondhand)

Cardy: Garage @ The Warehouse

Shoes: Garage @ The Warehouse

Earrings: Dollar Store

Make up: Eyes - NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone, Wet n Wild ColorIcon eyeshadow trio in Earth Looks Small From Down Here, and CoverGirl LashBlast mascara in Very Black; Lips - Madame Milly lip gloss; Face - Australis concealer; Nails - Santee Beach Blue and Revlon Blue Mosaic

I really love this dress - it’s one of my favourites. It’s perfect to throw on when the weather is warm. It’s mild here today but there’s still a bit of a wind, so a cardy was a necessity. This dress is actually longer at the front than at the back - the front hem is circular but the back one is straight across - so it’s a bit awkward looking when paired with flats. I need an excuse to wear heels more though!

Today’s manicure is for day 21 of the nail challenge: inspired by a colour. I picked blue, and used two polishes with ‘blue’ in their names. It’s simple but cute.

1 November: Galaxies

Dress: TradeMe (new)

Tights: Garage @ The Warehouse

Boots: Garage @ The Warehouse

Earrings: The Warehouse

Make up: Eyes - Lime Crime Candy Eyed Eyeshadow Helper, Darling Girl Cosmetics eyeshadow in Sugar Minuet, and CoverGirl LashBlast mascara in Very Black; Lips - Australis Colour Inject lip gloss in Disco; Face - Nivea Visage Young tinted moisturiser, and Australis concealer; Nails - CR 57, Barielle Blackened Bleu, Ulta Material Girl, K.K. 28, OPI DS Magic, and Revlon Galaxy

As you can probably tell by the photos, it’s super windy here today! But oddly enough, it’s still quite warm. We have had the weirdest weather lately. It’s been overcast and windy but also hot and humid. I’m not used to the humidity and I think I dehydrated myself quite badly over the weekend so I had a rough few days. I must drink more water!

My nails today are galaxy nails for the 31 day nail challenge. I am really proud of them. They look better in real life. I tried galaxy nails once before and it was a huge fail, so I was dreading this theme in the challenge, but it went great. I used a different tutorial this time and I think my success is partially down to the fact that instead of using a piece of make-up sponge for the nebulas, I used a paper towel! It works perfectly, even better than the sponge I think. I love the finished product. And I even used a polish called Galaxy - how cool am I?

22 October: Black, White and Wine

Dress: Misu via TradeMe (secondhand)

Singlet: Garage @ The Warehouse (worn underneath)

Tights: Garage @ The Warehouse

Shoes: Garage @ The Warehouse

Earrings: Dollar store

Make up: Eyes - NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone, Darling Girl Cosmetics eyeshadow in Fireside, and CoverGirl LashBlast mascara in Very Black; Lips - Darling Girl Cosmetics Liquid Kiss in Dragon Pearl; Face - Australis concealer; Nails - Zoya Malia, and Pumpkin Polish unnamed purple and blue glitter

Today is day 17 of the nail challenge: glitter. I used one of my most recent purchases for the theme, a purple and blue glitter in a pumpkin shaped bottle. Because none of these have names or even numbers, I’ve taken to calling them Pumpkin Polishes. This one is gorgeous. The photo really doesn’t show just how sparkly the glitter really is. I used two coats of glitter, over two coats of Zoya Malia, which is a medium purple creme.

I ended up with a Darling Girl Cosmetics FOTD without even trying to. I was looking for a purple-red eyeshadow that I could coordinate with my tights but instead I found Fireside and decided to use it instead. It’s a bronzey-brown with tiny flecks of red and copper. A great neutral for my skintone.

6 October: Being Aware

Dress: TradeMe (new)

Shoes: Garage @ The Warehouse

Earrings: Self-made

Make up: Eyes - e.l.f Mineral Eyeshadow Primer, Glamour Doll Eyes Foil Me, Sugarpill Chromalust eyeshadow in Royal Sugar and Lumi, and CoverGirl LashBlast mascara in Very Black; Lips - NYX round lipstick in Shiva; Face - Australis concealer

I bet the boobs in the first photo threw you all off! Haha. October is breast cancer awareness month, and while it’s all well and good to inject a bit of humour into situations like this, the fact is that breast cancer can be a killer. It can affect anyone - your grandmother, your mum, your aunty, your niece, your sister, your daughter, your partner, your best friend. It can affect males too, although breast cancer awareness month does tend to emphasize the female side. As women, we are encouraged to conduct monthly self-examinations of our breasts. If you find a lump or anything out of the ordinary, it is really important that you make an appointment to see a doctor right away. The key to surviving breast cancer is often early detection. If you are older, it’s also important to keep up with regular mamograms. Sure, they may be uncomfortable, but a few minutes of discomfort is better than the pain your family will endure if you were to become another victim of breast cancer. Please, talk to the women in your life about breast cancer, and help to spread awareness of this disease. There’s nothing to be awkward about and you might just end up saving a life.

7 September: Spring Green

Green top: Garage @ The Warehouse

Cardy: Garage @ The Warehouse

Jeans: Garage @ The Warehouse

Boots: Garage @ The Warehouse

Earrings: Gift

Make up: Eyes - NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone, Lime Crime magic dust in Abracadabra, Sugarpill Chromalust loose eyeshadow in Decora, and CoverGirl LashBlast mascara in Very Black; Lips - NYX Round Lipstick in Peach; Face - Nivea Visage Young tinted moisturiser, and Australis concealer; Nails - Zoya Midori

The last few days have been a little warmer here. The sun has been out every now and then, and there’s a definite spring feeling. I can’t wait for summer to come back! I know I’ll be complaining about the heat and humidity when it gets here but for now I’m dreaming of hot sunny days.

Day four of the nail challenge was green. I really wasn’t in the mood for painting my nails so I did a terrible job. At least Zoya’s formula is forgiving.

2 September: Wear It Purple

Dress/top: Garage @ The Warehouse

Coat: Garage @ The Warehouse

Tights: eBay (new)

Boots: Garage @ The Warehouse

Earrings: Dollar store

Make up: Eyes - NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone, Beauty From The Earth multi-use mineral pigment in Platinum, and CoverGirl LashBlast mascara in Very Black; Face - Australis concealer; Nails - NYX Girl’s Woman

Today I’m wearing purple to support gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex youth at risk of self-harm or suicide. An organisation called Wear It Purple was set up after a number of tragic deaths of rainbow youth, and the annual campaign aims to highlight the importance of acceptance and support of young people who identify as being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex, and also to raise awareness of homophobic bullying.

Wear it Purple has a simple message:

“You have the right to be proud of who you are.”

I believe in this message, and I don’t think that any young person ever deserves to be bullied, whether it be about their sexuality or anything else. Rainbow youth need to be able to feel safe enough to be themselves in our world, and I hope that by spreading the message of Wear It Purple, I can help change the homophobic mindset held by some.

My nails should have been purple too, I know, but I’m taking part in a 31 day nail challenge and it didn’t even occur to me that the two days coincided. Purple is a mix of red and blue though, so I guess I can get away with it!

30 August: Making Merry

Dress: Garage @ The Warehouse

Jacket: Garage @ The Warehouse

Tights: eBay (new)

Boots: Garage @ The Warehouse

Earrings: Diva

Make up: Eyes - NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone, Glamour Doll Eyes Foil Me, Darling Girl Cosmetics eyeshadow in Making Merry, and CoverGirl LashBlast mascara in Very Black; Lips - Darling Girl Cosmetics Holo Gloss in Rolling In The Deep; Face - Australis concealer

Finally, an outfit post! I’m currently on holidays from university (it’s technically a ‘teaching recess’, not a holiday, but we all know that if students don’t have classes, they wont do any work!) and I’ve been spending my time relaxing or working. I worked Friday through to Sunday and although it was only a couple of days, come Monday I was ready to crash. I had a pyjama day and it was amazing. I’m just not used to working more than one day a week. My legs hurt, my back hurt, I was sleepy, I was grumpy. I really do feel for those who work in retail full-time: it’s relentless. Plus being on your feet, on a concrete floor, for eight plus hours a day is really not good for your body.

Today the boyfriend and I headed to town for the afternoon with the intention of going present shopping for his brother’s birthday and both of our fathers, as it’s Father’s Day in New Zealand this coming Sunday. We came back empty handed but did have a lovely lunch out instead. And we did get groceries, so I guess the trip wasn’t altogether a waste. We managed to avoid the rain too, which was great, considering the boyfriend left the umbrella at work after his shift last night. Men!

I am 100% in love with the eyeshadow I’m wearing today. When I first discovered Darling Girl Cosmetics, Making Merry was at the top of my list to buy. I’m so glad I did. Foiled, it kind of looks like a bruise (but a very pretty bruise I’ll have you know!). It’s dark purple but has a blue iridescence and little flecks of red glitter. Absolutely beautiful!

25 August: Brown and Purple

Dress: Valley Girl (secondhand)

Top: Supre (worn underneath)

Tights: eBay (new)

Jacket: Garage @ The Warehouse

Boots: Garage @ The Warehouse

Earrings: The Warehouse

Make up: Eyes - e.l.f Mineral Eyeshadow Primer, NYX Ultra Pearl Mania eyeshadow in Walnut and Oro, Designer Brands kohl eye pencil in Black, and CoverGirl LashBlast mascara in Very Black; Lips - Darling Girl Cosmetics Liquid Kiss in Dragon Pearl; Face - Australis concealer; Nails - Orly Purple Velvet, Kleancolor Chunky Holo Purple, and Essie Matte About You topcoat

I’m starting to make a habit out of disappearing for a few days aren’t I? Earlier this week my parents came up to visit for a few days. They live three hours away so it was really awesome to catch up with them physically. I mean, we can talk on the phone all we want but there’s something about being able to see your family that makes a huge difference. They only decided to come up the night before they actually did so I didn’t have any blog posts prepared.

This brown dress is a new addition to my wardrobe. Mum and I went op-shopping on Monday and I found a few cute things. I don’t have many brown items of clothing and for $6 it was totally worth it. I also found these amazing earrings! They are plastic leopards and they remind me of Carli. She would definitely wear these! I can’t wait to show them off. I just need to find an outfit they work with.

Another new thing I have to show off is this adorable little baby!

This is a knitted bow on a brooch pin! These knitted bows are handmade by Kute Kiwi (blog here, Etsy here). I was lucky enough to be gifted this from Wallace over at Street and City Photos, a New Zealand street-style blog. Kute Kiwi also made knitted bow ties, and even necklaces! I love my bow brooch. It’s very unique and I really appreciate the time and effort that goes into a piece like this. I tried to teach myself to knit last winter and it didn’t go too well. I can’t wait to pop it in to an outfit somewhere. Mustard is a colour I haven’t played with much so it will be a challenge - which is exactly what I need!

10 August: Grey and Floral

Dress: Ignite @ Farmers via TradeMe (secondhand)

Cardy: Garage @ The Warehouse

Tights: The Warehouse

Boots: Garage @ The Warehouse

Earrings: Self-made

Make up: Eyes - e.l.f Mineral Eyeshadow Primer, Glamour Doll Eyes Foil Me, NYX Dramatic Chromatic eyeshadow pigment in Piggyback, Sugarpill Chromalust loose eyeshadow in Lumi, and CoverGirl LashBlast mascara in Very Black; Lips - Jordana InColor lip jelly in Bubble Gum; Face - Australis concealer

I’m almost ashamed to admit that this outfit is somewhat inspired by Taylor Swift. The last time I was back at my parent’s house, mum gave me some fashion magazines, mainly a mix of Australian Vogue and Marie Claire. In one of them, it showed multiple pics of Taylor pairing a grey cardy with floral dresses. I own both a grey cardy and a couple of floral dresses, so I thought ‘why not?’. I tried to break out of my comfort zone a little today and wore the grey cardy with black tights and shoes. My brain is wired to match colours like crazy and I would normally wear this kind of outfit with a black cardy.

While I do think Taylor Swift is pretty cool - as a fashionista anyway - I’m just not a fan of her music, and the cool kid in me cringes at the potential loss of street cred with admitting I dressed like her today. I could have spent that street cred on a pink stegosaurus.