Beauty by a Sparrow

This is my ugly old mug after a solid fifteen hours of wearing my Stay Put foundation.

SALLY HANSEN INSTA-DRI WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!

Now I was lucky enough to receive my bottle in a Sally Hansen pack that came with any Chemist Warehouse purchase. Usually it goes for around $14 at Priceline, but obviously keep an eye out for deals, 3 for 2 promotions, and of course, free gifts with purchase. This stuff is amazing, I cannot recommend it highly enough!

I was extremely spoilt on my 21st birthday, and I'm so very grateful and feel so special that so many lovely people thought of me and gave me such gorgeous, thoughtful gifts. I received two MAC lipsticks, my first ever, from a group of friends, and I'm in love. They're my babies, I keep them in their boxes and the zipper compartment of my bag, I never let them out of my sight haha!

Chatterbox and Snob 

Snob on top

Speaking of thoughtful, beautiful birthday presents, my work girls spoilt me rotten with a whole collection of gorgeous items, including Too Faced's Naturals Eye Palette. 

(Speaking of Mecca and March, HOW FREAKIN' EXCITED AM I FOR URBAN DECAY?! LOTS!)

Of course, perfecting your eyeshadow game means nothing if you've got big, fat circles under your eyes, and summer heat doesn't make for a peaceful night's sleep, lemme tell you! So imagine my absolute DELIGHT to find Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Concealer. HOLEY RUSTED METAL BATMAN. With Goji berry extract and a foamy roller ball, this goes on like a dream and really, truly works! I couldn't believe it! I've never had an under eye concealer work so well, and so nicely too. As you can see in the photo I've nearly gone through the tube, and I'll definitely be repurchasing as soon as I can! 

The Vaseline Hand & Cuticle cream is a staple in my handbag. I don't find it as hydrating as the Palmer's hand, foot and elbow cream, but it is definitely more quickly absorbed. I'm the worst at remembering to moisturise, so having this in my bag and having to look at it every time I grab my wallet or phone reminds me to do it!

I've said before and I'll say it again; Soap and Glory Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub is AMAZING and I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it. 

Did you get that? LOVE IT.

Perfect for using before tanning, and I have to say, I now understand the hype around St. Tropez. One of my last posts from 2014 mentioned me buying the tan on sale, and I'm so, so glad that I did. It's a green based mousse that goes on smoothly with a beautiful finish, and doesn't look harsh or fake or orange. I'm very careful with how I use this tan, as it can stain your hands, and I leave my arms and legs out straight for about an hour after I apply, to make sure I don't smudge or mess it up. The problem with St. Tropez, for me, is the price. On sale I could justify the mousse and the mitt (which washes and dries like a dream, and is always ready to-go for application!), but coming in at closer to $50 than I'd like, I'm afraid this will be my first, and possibly only bottle. It IS on sale this week at Priceline so hopefully I'll be able to duck in and grab another, but no guarantees! This time around I might try the gradual tan, just so I can compare it against the Palmer's Cocoa Butter tan.

Palmers is another brand that's been surprising me lately, especially the Firming Lotion. I mentioned this product in a post earlier last year; I grabbed it just to try, and fell in love. It actually works! My thighs appear smoother, my skin feels better, and I've been recommending it to anyone concerned about cellulite, stretch marks, or skin tone. Team it with the Scrub and you'll have skin to die for!

More birthday goodies!

My work team are incredible. They're also thoughtful, generous, and kind, and heard me mentioning that I'd been looking for a new wallet. Imagine how excited and grateful I was to open my new Mocha wallet! IN MINT! Honestly these girls know me too well - it's gorgeous, it's patent leather, it fits everything I could ever need, and I adore it. Mocha are quite a cute little boutique style of stores found in most Melbourne shopping centres; they also stock Samantha Wills jewellery, if anyone else is in love with the Bardot Bohemian rings like I am! 

My gorgeous girl Hanna gave me the Abode Aroma candle in pineapple and guava, and in case you can't tell, I've nearly burnt it down to the quick! I LOVE THIS CANDLE. I light it nearly every night before bed, and it smells so summery and fresh. I leave its lid off during the day, so that when I come home my room smells like a mini-tropical get away.

That gorgeous china with the Lindt balls is Royal Albert, the Miranda Kerr collection. I was absolutely SPOILT and surprised, and humbled to receive the cake stand, tea strainer, as well as the tea cup, saucer and plate. They're absolutely beautiful and I know I'll keep them forever, and pass them down to my granddaughters one day. 

Fun fact about me: I collect tea cups. I think it's residual tea party obsession from when I was a little girl. 

Well that is it for now, my little birds! Any questions about any of the products mentioned, please just leave them in the comments - or if you've used any of these yourself PLEASE tell me what you think? Am I totally wrong? Is there something better I should be trying? Something I should know! Tweet it loud, tweet it proud! 

Until next time, 

Tweet tweet xx

Fresh Colour & Curls

Before I give y'all the run down, MASSIVE THANK YOU to my girl Prue. Prue was the one who suggested we go pink, she has such a passion for hair and beauty, and honestly it's exactly the thing I've been needing lately so I can't say enough how grateful I am and how much I love that girl!

I got myself to Prue's house fairly early in the morning, and lucky I did or who knows how long we would've been waiting around for colour to take, etc. After lunch (woo! lunch!) we walked up to her local Priceline, where one of their sales assistants was extremely helpful. 

My hair is already quite blonde, and quite light, and has some ashy undertones. The main question Prue and I were tackling was what concentration of bleach to use on my already coloured hair; not only would this leave a great base for the pink, but once the semi-permanent dye washes out, the colour underneath needs to look beautiful as well. 

Important Colour Decisions Being Made

We ended up with a cream developer bleach, 30 Vol, a packet of blue peroxide, and a tube of a light blonde that was in the same colour wheel as my current tones. Prue also grabbed  a bottle of Swarzkhoff Nordic Blonde Toner to use after the colouring process, to eliminate any chance of brassiness. 

We return to Prue's, where I was bundled up like a baby in a towel, Prue popped on her gloves and started mixing. I cannot over emphasise how much I TRUSTED Prue to do this. Whilst it's absolutely great to have friends that want to experiment with hair and beauty with you, keep in mind there's some things best left to the professionals - Prue however has an excellent understanding of hair care and colouring, and I knew I was in good hands with her, literally.

Prue preferred to wear gloves and do the colouring by hand, rather than using a brush and foils. I think this lead to a natural, beautiful result, as Prue was able to judge, by eye, where the colour was going and how it was going to fade.

Bleach and colour were in, and we played the waiting game, chatting and checking the bleach wasn't getting too hot. Then I had my head over her laundry sink while she washed it through, first getting out the bleach and peroxide, then using toner, before washing it through with shampoo and conditioner, and then applying a hair mask. 

Waiting For the Hair Mask to Dry, Enjoying a Vanilla Latte (and Tim Tam.. or Four)

The mask was rinsed out, my hair blow dried, the dead ends trimmed, and voila! Beautiful new hair.

And then I was back in the chair for the best bit - THE PINK!
The method Prue used is one that leaves a semi-permanent, wash out result. If I were to take on the pink permanently, I wouldn't be doing it the same day I bleached or dyed my hair blonde, as I think that'd just be asking for trouble and breakage!

Essentially it's all the conditioner you can fit in a bowl, with all the dye you like, mixed up and then applied to the hair. 

Mid-Way Through

Again we played the waiting game, letting the colour sit... and sit... and sit... Before Prue used a hair drier on the conditioner/dye blend. The heat locks the colour into the hair as it dries.
Another rinse, another blow dry, aaaannnd... PINK HAIR! 

Left to Right: (1) Hair before colouring (2) Waiting for bleach and colour (3) Washed, toned and blow dried - blonde! (4) Conditioner and colour mask (5) Rinsed, blow dried and freshly curled
(6) Curls brushed out into beautiful waves 

I'm so excited and so so happy with my pink hair - it is semi-permanent, and even after washing it today the colour has receded and gone a gorgeous pastel shade. I honestly don't mind doing this process again because the end result was that beautiful and made me feel THAT HAPPY that I'm absolutely willing to tip my head over the laundry sink a couple more times haha!

Prue then pampered me like a princess, curling my hair, which looked phenomenal, and doing my make up too. I've gotten so, so many compliments about my hair, which has been so so lovely as well. I'll list all the products we used below, though I don't know Prue's hair mask brand (again, head in the sink guys, visibility was low!). I'm so, so, SO excited and happy about my hair! 

The Final Result xx

PRODUCTS; 

Nordic Blonde Toner $5.39

Hi Lift Blonde Highlighter Sachet $3.99

Innovative Creme Developer 30 Vol $5.59
Crema Colour in 10T  Very Light Beige Blonde $13.99

Until next time,

Tweet tweet xx

The end result 

This was where things got interesting.
Bleach gets hot, and as it lightens hair it gets a bit warmer. Moisture tends to drip and leak through the foils, which I knew from the last time I was blonde. As I sat in the chair, though, my hair slowly (but surely) began creeping from a 6 up to an 8, with 10 being the absolute BURNING hottest and 1 being nothing. Soon my scalp was getting to a 9, and it was at this point my hairdresser noticed quite a bit of leakage, so quickly teased my ends and applied lightener. Within ten minutes I almost couldn't stand it, but hadn't said anything because hey what do I know? (I'm not a hair dresser haha) When my hairdresser felt my hair and said "I've NEVER felt hair this hot, we need to get you to the basin NOW!" I panicked slightly. 

Lightener had also leaked onto my shirt, so my lovely hair dresser threw it in the washing machine - meaning for the remainder of my appointment I was topless. Ha. 

Here we are, waiting for the lightener to do its thing, hoping my clipped-closed wrap stayed closed so no one would spot my bra.... Chilling.. Chilling... 

Believe me, I know a tiger striped head ain't attractive, but it didn't stay this way for long. Once all my hair had been washed, my hairdresser had the base to start working up to the blonde you saw above. 

 (I know, sexy right?) 

My salon has recently started using NAK hair colour, promoted as 'the soft colour range'. It's pretty cool, the choose your tones, pop them in this bowl that's then WHOOSHED around like a salad drier, to achieve the perfect colour. I wasn't sure what to expect, because I was used to old products, but the end result looked pretty. Did it feel softer than the old colour products? Not so much that I noticed, but I must mention that my hair was a tad dried out after the process. Not due to anything my hairdresser did, simply because going from such a dark shade to a light colour isn't a great thing to do to your hair, no matter how healthy it is. My saving grace was that my hair is extremely thick, so breakage isn't as big of a deal because there is, seriously, that much of it. 

I've washed my hair twice since Thursday, and I've been using John Frieda Everlasting Blonde shampoo and John Frieda Color Renew conditioner, which is purple as it contains toner, STOPPING brassiness (yay!)

It hasn't even been a week and I've received so, so many compliments and comments. Weird as it sounds, although blonde isn't my natural colour, I feel more like myself with this as my hair colour over brunette shades. I'll keep you all up to date with how my colour is progressing, and all I'm doing to keep my hair healthy and my colour looking fresh! 

(Before: Brunette balyage                                                After: blonde and bright!) 

Tweet tweet xx

Stay tuned... My next post will be all-21st related, including a tutorial! 

As you can see my blonde was very brassy, re-growth coming through, the ends were dead and it was a struggle to deal with, and unhealthy. Something needed to change because as most blondes will tell you (even the natural ones!) it's not an easy colour to keep up. 

Ignore the awkward facial expression, I think I was in shock. 

This is a few hours after the dye job, so you can see the dark marks on my skin. It took a little while to get used to seeing my own reflection! This was February 2014 - new semester, new hair. 

Fast forward to May 2014, and my re-growth was looking GREY. GREY! I'm only 20!
My hair wasn't turning old, I'd just misjudged my original colour. I'm naturally a very, very cool blonde/brunette colour, and unfortunately, against a bold, almost auburn brunette, that colour looks grey, even though it definitely isn't. My second attempt came out much, much better, richer and slightly lighter. 

As you can see the balyage has been pulled up a little higher, almost level with the cheekbone, which again softened the dramatic dark dye job no. 1
I loved this colour and the ombre, but as with all blonde ends, they began to split. That's why August this year I opted for a lob! 

To a full head of foils and full fringe by the middle of 2012

 

I'll keep you all updated as I go from brunette-balayage back to blonde! (Fingers crossed it's not a disaster zone!)

Tweet tweet xx

(A photo of yours truly, as I accurately appear during the summer season)

Summer. Sun, sea, sand, surf, skin and sangria.
Also heat equivalent to what an individual must feel at the doorway of hell, in Australia at least. 

As the weather slowly, but surely, starts to warm up, it's gotten me thinking about not only my favourite parts of my favourite season, but my general tips and tricks for surviving some of the harshest conditions that can be thrown at a lil' bird. 

For starters, if you're pale, don't kid yourself. Slap that sunscreen and, in some cases, invisible zinc on, and just deal with it. Don't try to tan, because believe me, I have had enough summers attempting a natural glow only to end up with a glow similar to that of a HOT STOVE. Sunburn HURTS, it SUCKS, and it can damage your skin (to the point of melanoma!). A great thing to do is use a body moisturiser that already contains SPF, so even if you forget to use sunscreen or are planning on staying indoors for most of the day (whether that be for work, school etc.) at least your skin is a little protected. 

My top picks are
Palmer's Cocoa Butter with SPF 15+ https://www.priceline.com.au/skincare/hand-and-body/body-moisturisers/cocoa-butter-formula-spf-15-body-lotion-250.0-ml

Dove Gradual Tan in Fair-Medium SPF 15+ https://www.priceline.com.au/skincare/sun-and-tanning/instant-tan/summer-glow-gradual-self-tan-body-lotion-fair-to-medium-400.0-ml

Invisible Zinc SPF 50+ https://www.priceline.com.au/index.php/skincare/sun-and-tanning/sun-protection/spf-50-4hr-water-resistant-lotion-50.0-ml

(NOTE: you don't HAVE to take a bath. This stuff works in the shower too, but I find a bath lets me get a really good scrubbing before it all washes off too quickly)

I also added some epsom salts, as they also aid in getting that tan off as well as soothing any tight muscles.

Now grab a handful of your lemon-sugar concoction and give yourself a good scrub! Once you've done this leave it for 2-3 minutes, as the lemon juice gets into the skin and the acids lift the tan away from the skin (without being too harsh, of course). 

Take a clean face washer or small towel and rub this over the skin before rinsing. Make sure it's one you can easily wash, as the towelling will lift and rub off the tan in small, brown flakes.

Today I was DESPERATE to get this awful tan off, so after I hopped out of the tub I jumped into the shower and used the Swisse Body Exfoliant - it's a VERY gentle exfoilant that smells lovely, and it helped to get those darker, stubborn bits of tan to fade. 

Here's the result: 

As you can see, my tan hasn't completely faded, but it's far more even than earlier today. Once you've used the lemon-sugar scrub it becomes MUCH easier to exfoliate and get more of your tan off. I'd recommend leaving your skin a day or two between using either the lemon-sugar scrub or a harsher exfoliant, so your skin can recover from the scrubbing. 

And I PROMISE to never EVER tan over an already fading tan EVER again!

Also, using a gentle self-tanner, like Dove Summer Glow between tanning stints helps to  moisturise your skin and even it all out as your tan fades out. 

Until next time my little birds, tweet tweet! xx