Beauty by a Sparrow

From the gown, to her hair, to her lip colour, to her beautiful acceptance speech, this gal didn't put a foot wrong!

Beauty-wise, aside from Carrie, three other girls caught my eye and made my jaw drop. Scherri-Lee Biggs (channel 9), Rebecca Judd (channel 9) and Lucy Nettlefold (channel 7) stole the show with their looks, and I loved each of them for different reasons. 

Bec Judd

Ah, who doesn't love Bec Judd? And her MUA, Chantelle Baker, who SMASHED IT. Honestly there's not a thing I'd change about her make-up. Beautiful contouring, full brows, smoky browns to set off her gorgeous tan, and a pale pink lip to leave her coral Jaton Couture gown as the star. The only teeny tiny thing, really teeny tiny, is the hair. I loved the cut of her gown, the v-neck and the coral lace, but I feel like leaving her hair all down covered too much of it. I would've opted for a low, sleek side sweep, perhaps a bun or braid, something soft enough to compliment the sharp lines of her gown, but a little less overwhelming. 

SERIOUSLY ARE YOU EVEN A HUMAN?

I asked my Instagram followers what look they'd like to see, and Scherri was the pick! So today I attempted to re-create Scherri's look (by Jade Kisnorbo) in my little bathroom sitting on the floor.

Some nice contouring work happening!

To replicate the look, I used a hodge podge of different products. For my base I used my Cetaphil moisturiser, Face of Australia matte eye primer,  and Nude Airbrush primer. To re-create the smoky shadows, I used the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette, and the Chi Chi Glamorous Bases palette. The Maybelline New York Hyperglossy liner allowed me to create a fine line with great shine, and a teeny tiny wing like Scherri's. Maybelline also helped me to conceal the bags under my eyes (they're Gucci) with the Revitalise concealer, and I used the Australis 4 in 1 concealer creams to cover up redness. Today I played it simple with my Maybelline NY Dream Pure BB cream, and my Rimmel Stay Matte powder for setting. I used the Chi Chi Rose blushes, after I'd had some fun with my AC On Tour palette. I tried to re-create Scherri's big, black lashes with the Australis Mega Lash mascara, topped with the Spotsgirl Fibre lash mascara. 

I tried my best and I felt pretty glamorous today, must say! 

Stay tuned, I'll be posting more recreations of my favourite Logies looks later this week!

Until next time,

Tweet tweet xx

Ash blonde balyage, you will always have a place in my heart, and haunt my dreams, but I can't deal any more. 

I can't deal with the re-growth, the maintenance, the cost, the whole kit and kaboodle. I do love being a blonde and I think it suits me quite well, but a student budget and champagne tastes - and hair! - just doesn't work out. 

So I was trawling through Pinterest (don't we all) and minding my own business, when 

Oh. Oh my. 

Luscious, dark, rich, chocolate brown curls. Goodness gracious me. 

I've written before about how ashy blonde-brown my natural hair colour is, and whilst I still believe an ash blonde balyage would have worked with my natural tones, there's something about the richness and depth of this brunette shade that I can't resist. 

Anne Hathaway is bae

Melbourne is quickly moving into more autumnal, wintry weather, and the less sun I see the less I feel summery, bubbly and blonde-like, and the more I'm attracted to auburn, brunette shades. I'm also loving pale skin against rich, mahogany and cocoa palettes, and as we move into winter and fake tanning becomes far less necessary, I think my own pale skin would 'pop' a little more against a brunette shade. 

I'll admit I'm a little scared. Stepping down from gold/blonde to brunette isn't as easy as TV would have you believe. That being said, last February my hairdresser managed to get me down from a brassy-gold to a quite dark, dark almost black-brown without too, too much drama or damage. Even if I have to first go down to a caramel-brown before I can get to the chocolate-auburn shade, I'm more than happy for that to be the process. 

More than anything, I feel I need a change. Going to pink a few weeks ago gave me a taste that I want more of - something different, something new, and something that will hopefully be a little less intensive than maintaining my blonde, currently. I'm overdue for a trim anyhow, so at my next session with my hairdresser I'm going to get her advice and tips for going down to such a dark, warm shade. 

I mean come on. And with Easter next week, it's never been a better time to do chocolate! 

I haven't been this obsessed since I found Sportsgirl lipsticks and that's really saying something. Also I'm planning to travel at some point this year, and I know that a darker, brunette shade is going to be so, so much easier to up keep while I'm away than any blonde could ever be. 

"BUT WHAT ABOUT BALYAGE?!" I hear you cry. I know, I know. I do still adore the soft, feminine feel of a well done balyage ombre, but as I said, I need a change, and I know the more that I try to do to my hair at once the more damaged it will be. And just because I'm not doing a balyage immediately, doesn't mean I can't or won't in future. This year's big hair trend is a new technique called baby lights, where, like balyage, whisps of colour are painted, free hand, through the hair, particularly closer to the face, to give them impression of sun kissed, youthful lockes. 

Baby lights with balyage 

And just to confuse myself that little bit more I found these gorgeous photos on Pinterest that have now got me, once more, considering a BIG CHOP