2014 - the good the bad & the 'to do' in 2015

A fresh new year is almost upon us, only 1 sleep to go ! 

2014 has been a good year, i would probably describe it as a 'comfortable' year, following on from 2013 was hard because that was a fantastic, exciting & busy year. 2015 is set to bring many exciting things for M & I, the biggest of which is our wedding ! 

Blogmas 2014 - Day 10

1. What is your favourite Christmas Movie/s? 
i really can't pick a favorite, but i do LOVE 'Home Alone', 'National Lampoons Christmas Vacation' and 'Love Actually'. There are lots of good ones on Netflix too, i love to have on in the background for feeling extra festive 

2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
Always Christmas Morning ! Always will :) this year i gave M an early christmas present (an Xbox game his bro has that he was desperate to play) & it just feels so weird that he has it already ? Hahaha i'm pretty set on this rule, we always open them together with a coffee / hot chocolate :) 

3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?
I remember one year all my family were over, it got really late so my brother, sister & i went to bed, that year we had just got a swimming pool & i remember falling asleep feeling so happy and excited, listening to my parents / aunties & uncles enjoying a midnight swim, laughing and having fun. Then i woke up with a stocking full of little pressies on the end of my bed :) 

4. Favourite festive food?
Roast potatoes, tandoori chicken with extra coriander my inlaws make, christmas custard, salted caramel pretzel bark...oh my gosh i LOVE festive food !  

5. Favourite Christmas gift?

The most special gift i've ever received was a mural / artwork that M painted for me last year 

6. Favourite Christmas scent?
'White Christmas' candle by Glass house and 'Spiced Red Pear' by Circa Home YUMMM

7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?
We spend it with M's family, eating and playing boardgames. It's the best night ! I have a particular tradition in mind i want to start once we have a little person in the house, but that is a long way off :) 

8. What tops your tree?
A gold star from the emporium known as Ikea 

9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?
A swim from the roof in my bedroom. Dad said yes, Mum said no :( turns out there weren't any roof beams in the right places so i couldn't have had one anyway lol random 

10. What's the best part about Christmas for you?
Giving gifts, eating too much, having DnM's with my cousins, looking at lights, spending time with people :) 

Blogmas 2014 - Day 3

Hello again :) 

Today we finally set up our tree ! 

Each year we get a fresh one, usually i forget to water it but this year i was on my A-Game ! Well i was until the dogs started drinking from the water holder haha 

Here it is...

It looks pretty impressive at night too ! 

The best bit about it is just having it in the room, like instant decor, kinda wish i could leave it up year round, that and the scent :) 

We went for black, gold and white ornaments as most years we have purple and gold (for the super laker fan in the house) 

I love it ! It officially feels like Christmas here 

xx

Blogmas 2014 - Day 2

Today i remembered one of my Christmas favourites from the last few years !

Well from like the last 20 years, haha

The humble chocolate advent calendar

Things have certainly changed since i was a youngin' because in my childhood advent calendar i always got a teeny tiny piece of chocolate that you had to either pop out or jimmy out with a (blunt) knife. This year M surprised me with a Freddo advent calendar :) I had completely forgotten about getting one but he hadn't & not only did he get me one he got me the BEST one !

This calendar is a little more special than the average, M made some customisations before giving it to me.

Each day has a fortune M has written for what he thinks the day will bring ! It sounds corny but he's written them really well !

How cute is that, it's the best thing to look forward to of a morning

Only 23 sleeps until Christmas

Introducing Blogmas 2014

Well Hello,
Happy December, well December 2nd hahaha

I for one am a massive, massive Christmas nerd !
Really i love Christmas,  the whole spirit of the season just gets me so excited for life haha

This year i've decided to do Blogmas ! Have you heard of it ?
Basically it's blogging once a day, right up until Christmas Eve :)
There are no strict rules, except to blog daily ! You can write about anything that is relevant to you that day, most posts seem to focus around preparing for Christmas but it's completely up to you !

I originally came across the idea from My Pale Skin 

I really want to take this as an opportunity to to revive my blog & mix in a whole lot of Christmas cheer !! My blog is missing a bit of personality & i want you guys to get to know me better 

I cant wait to get into it, i'm planning to post each evening so i can post about the whole day ! 

So if there is anything in particular you'd like to see, please let me know below 

p.s i'm currently a day behind, my internet keeps dropping out :( this evening i'm planning to have my day 2 post up :) 

30 before 30

Recently i found a list i wrote when i must have been about 15 or 16, it was titled '20 before 20'. It was absolutely fascinating to read, most of my goals were silly but most of them were achieved ! 

Reading it was such a good feeling as each point i read & thought about brought a flood of memories back to me, it felt like a gift from me, to me ! 

So with this discovery i've begun reassessing my life goals alot ! 
Recently i read this blog post from Pursuit of Felicity about her '30 before 30 list. It inspired me to write my own list. 

With 2015 bringing about my 27th year, i figured it was time to get these down on paper & start making them happen ! Here is my list of 30 things i want to do before I hit the big 3 0 

1. Land a permanent job in my dream career

2. Fly somewhere business class  

3. Have an amazing wedding 

4. Visit Europe   

5. Buy an Investment Property

6. Get comfortable having my photo taken 

7. Plan a big, fun Hawaiian 30th Birthday Party 

8. Visit Disneyland 

9. Do a decent jump (i.e more than 10cm of air) on my snowboard 

10. Earn over $1,000 a week (nett)
11. Learn to feel comfortable & complete being who i am

12. Buy myself a really, really expensive handbag 

13. Donate blood 

14. Throw a Halloween Party
15. Live overseas  

16. Grow my hair to my waist 

17. Visit the local Farmers Markets regularly

18. Watch a Lakers game at the Staples Centre with M

19. Visit Thailand 

20. Indulge my blogging hobby at least once a week  

21. Organise a surprise trip for my parents 30th Wedding Anniversary 
22. Get to my goal weight and stay there
23. Try stand up paddle boarding
24. Attend a dawn service on ANZAC day 
25. Pay off my HECS debt 
26. Make a new friend 
27. Fall Pregnant 
28. Renovate our bathroom
29. Upgrade our house to one with a decent block 
30.

You might have noticed how i left a few spots free ? My plan is to add to this list as i think of things i want to do ! 

Do you have any suggestions ? 

I would LOVE to hear them, or read other peoples similar lists xx 

A 1200 calorie diet

For the last 6+ months i've been trying to shift the last 5 kilos of unwanted weight i have left ! I have come close to moving it, really close...but at the end of the day a busy working / home life takes over & i end up right back where i started. 

I think for me, i rely too heavily on food emotionally. For instance, if i'm having a bad day at work, a busy week or things just aren't going my way i will instinctively reach for chocolates or chips. It's a very bad habit & totally NOT helping me reach my fitness goals 

So i started doing a little research, i had heard great things about Michelle Bridges 12 WBT (but i feel kinda ripped off spending money on loosing weight) As i was perusing her website i found this article promoting the benefits of a 1200 calorie diet. 

That's what i decided i would try to help me shift this last bit of weight, along with walking & 3L of water a day.

My plan is to eat: 

- 300 calories at breakfast 

- 300 calories at lunch 

- 300 calories at dinner 

- 150 calorie snacks (twice a day)

The first recipe i'm going to make is this ! Honey toasted oats for breakfast

I HATE raisins, sultana's, currants...any icky dried up old grape thing makes me dry wretch ! 

I really don't like them 

So i want to make this fruit free muesli i saw on the blog Two Spoons

Rather than sesame seeds i'm going with Chia & i thought i would add some raw hazelnuts too !

Image Credit : Two Spoons

Would you guys like to see some more recipes / ideas / food photos ? 

I'm never sure if that interests people or bores them ? 

When other people's issues become you own...

Sigh...

Wedding planning is stressing me the eff out !

I hate swearing, my grandma always said to me 'ladies never swear' but honestly, i think ladies do swear ! I think some of the best ladies out there are partial to dropping the odd 'F' bomb when it's called for

The reason for my swearing in this instance is that 2 couples in our bridal party are separating (1 divorcing, 1 ending a 5 year relationship)

I am heart broken for the fact that my friends are so unhappy, it really devastates me whenever a relationship close to me ends, its even more upsetting to wonder how long they were unhappy for before things ended.

I am heart broken for the fact that the wedding party i had envisioned, the plan in my head with all our close friends is now never going to be a reality. I'm a bit all over the place at the moment, bouncing between thoughts of being upset for myself & M as well as thoughts of being upset for how our friends must be feeling. Then i have pangs of guilt for thinking about myself in amongst everyone else's misery !

Right now my head is all over the place
I wish i had happier stories to tell :)

Asos ! My very first order

So, i may be a leettle behind the times, but tonight i ordered my very first order off Asos !

I headed over there looking for a pretty but winter-appropriate dress for a 21st we're going to in about a months time

These are the dresses i ended up buying, for a grand total of $62.74 including postage

                               ($27.45)                                                    ($35.29)

The dress on the left has a full 'skater' style skirt & let me tell you, dresses in that cut have a super flattering effect on people, like me, who choose to eat oreo's for breakfast

I love how the dress is tight where your waist is & then flares out & (flatteringly) over the areas where you need help 

The dress on the right is a tighter more slimline style & may not be something i can wear until i kick the aforementioned habit ! It's a super pretty colour & as i am addicted to wearing black tights under everything, it should work well 

Postage was free :) and seems like it will be pretty fast too ! 

I ordered these pretties at 7:50pm & got an email just now (10:42) saying it has been dispatched

Well done Asos ! 

Have you ever ordered from Asos ?

Do you have any treasured pieces ?

The OC

I have a little bit on an obsession...

If you've never watched the OC, let me give you a quick rundown
ITS THE MOST AWESOME SHOW EVERRRRRR

i watch all 4 seasons on the original dates they were aired, every year

i am a fan-girl by all stretchs of the definition

It began in 2004, when i was just a youngin'

I didnt watch it at first, but as soon as i did i was hooked

Sadly, it ended 4 years later in 2007, on my 19th birthday

I will never forget the OC, & i will continue to watch it & talk about it & pretend its still on TV lol

I plan on getting a signed cast photo

Cause thats just how i roll

lol

dont judge too harshly

I just had to get that off my chest co now i can talk about it freely
:) 

Post Marissa - Circa 2007

The Beauty Blogger Tag

I found this tag from Ker Ker over at Beauty & Things

Rules:

State that the tag was created by The Beau Bow
Tag as many beauty bloggers as you would like
Title this post the ‘Beauty Blogger Tag’

Questions & Answers: 

1. Name a beauty routine you barely do.

This is so bad ! I very rarely follow a nightly skin care routine. I know, i know its a sin, & I have all the products i need i just don't use them. Sigh, it's definitely time to stop slacking 

2. Is washing your brushes something that you regularly do?
Yep, usually weekly ! I get a kick out of seeing my blush / foundation brushes transform colours once their clean, plus i got some amazing brush cleaner from Daiso. 

3. How long do you last with chipped nail varnish?
Only a day or so. I just can't ignore it once i've noticed it start to chip...so i take it off

4. How often do you put off buying/replacing a beauty item or nail polish, even if you need it? 
A week or so, however with some things i will just wait until there is sale (like 40% off at priceline)

5. What is your worst beauty habit? 
Not plucking my eyebrows often enough & then regretting it as soon as i put highlighter under my eyebrows 

6. Name something non-beauty related that you tend to put off all the time.
Getting my car serviced, bad Lauren !

7. When going out somewhere do you leave getting ready until the last-minute or not? 
Not really. I find that if i am super excited about the event, say it's a friends wedding, i will get ready wayyyyy in advance & turn it into a little event of it's own. It usually includes a bath, wine & Katy Perry music 

8. Can you commit to spending bans?
Yep. I guess i'm kind of on a ban now. If i have a goal i am working towards then i am pretty focused & don't mind not being able to buy things 

9. How organised is your make up and nail polish collection?
Actually a little too organised. It's all put away in the closet of my spare room. Which is good, but i feel like i dont go through my collection often enough & alot of things get left unused 

10. What is the longest time you have gone without writing a blog post?
Months. It's a habit i have broken now, but i am still trying to become more consistent 

So there you go :)
Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me, i LOVE reading posts like this so if you're keen to participate in this tag, i tag you !!

Let me know if you do cause i'd love to read it
xx

Lifes little luxuries

This is a post i've been wanting to do for a while now !
I guess its a bit of a habit i want to start

Not long ago on the Vogue forums i was reading a thread of a similar name where girls were writing about little things around their home / office that bring a bit of luxury to everyday ! It's such a great idea, it really made me appreciate how many beautiful things we come into contact with daily !

Each Sunday i'm planning to put up a post about the little things from my week that made life just a little bit sweeter !

The photos below are a mash up of things from the past few weeks but from here on out i'm going to be doing it each Sunday based on photos from the week before :)

L. a delicious country chicken pie we made for dinner one night, notice my failed 'arrows'

R. really really enjoying these decadent chocolate chip cookies, sigh clean eating starts tomorrow 

 L. my new favorite celestial seasonings tea

R. super yummy beef stroganoff made in my new slow cooker

L. a beautiful rose given to me from our ceremony venue

R. a new burger place we ate at with mason jar lights & hanging baskets ! Cute 

Hope you guys enjoy !

Life has been rather hectic !

I feel like this year just will NOT slow down
How is it June already, and not just June...the very last week of June !
My beginning to 2014 was supercharged to say the least;

January
- we planned our engagement party for the end of January (this got pushed back to march as the venue was not ready in time & would have only had 40 chairs available for our 100+ guests)
- we viewed about 8+ wedding reception venues & more or less hated them all

February 
- i had my birthday in February

March
- we both applied for new jobs in early March, which were located 5+ hours away. This meant a fair bit of driving back & forth to interviews & home inspections
- we re-planned our engagement party, which went pretty smoothly on March 15th
- we never heard back about the jobs we applied for & so applied for more new jobs

April
- we decided to buy an investment property

May 
- we booked a venue for our ceremony (yay !) & kept looking for reception places

June 
- we helped out with our brother & sister in-laws engagement, which we are both in the bridal party for (squee !)
 - we settled on our investment property
 - we visited the property & spent 3 days doing a 'spring clean'
 - i began applying for another new job


Phew & that brings us to today !
Seriously, even writing this is tiring ! i feel like i'm getting swept up in the day-to-day happenings so it's important to reflect on what we have achieved!

Which brings me to my list of things i wanted to achieve from this year, you may remember this  post about how i wanted 2014 to pan out, to break it down for you, in 2014 i wanted to:
 - loose another 4 kilos - fail ! I have gained about 4 rather than lost 
 - keep eating clean(ish) - another fail ! I bounce between weeks of clean & weeks of 'omg did i really eat a whole box of oreos 
 - blog at least every second day - mega fail ! This one makes me sad 
 - have an amazing engagement party - sort of ! I had really high expectations for our party & it was good but i focused on the wrong things, you can read more about that here (link to engagement post) 
- start saving money towards our wedding - yes we did ! - but then bought an investment poperty, oops ! 
- live in the moment & live the best life i can - yes ! I feel like out of everything this one is being acheived

So that is what has been keeping me busy (and away from blogging) i am SO looking forward to the next 6 months being a little less hectic

How have the first 6 months of your year been ?

Plans for June !

We're halfway through the year. Already.

Can you believe that ! When i think that the year is already half gone, i think two things;
1. OMG time is going so fast, where has 6 months gone
2. OMG Only 6 and a half months to Christmas, yayy ! 

Hahaha ! And that is some major insight into how my mind works 

But seriously, i can't believe it's already so far though the year, i have accomplished alot but still have so much more i want to do before the year is out ? For me things slow down in winter, i feel so in my element when the weather cools down that all i want to do is just enjoy it ! This usually means weekends full of slow cooking, reading, snuggling with my dogs, coffee and blogging ! 

In amongst that, the '6 month mark' has also lead me to re-evaluate the goals i wanted to achieve this year, i've decided to break them up into small monthly milestones, and for the month of June i choose: 

- to drink 3 litres of water each day 
- to stick to a daily skin care routine 
- to organise our study
- to fix up our front garden / porch 

To keep me accountable (because that seems to work for me) i have some inspirational photos of the garden i want to achieve

Garden :

All photos from Pinterest

Hopefully by breaking it down into small monthly goals i can achieve everything i want to for June 

What are some of your goals this month ? I already have big plans for July 

x

A (not-so-well-earned) Break

So i have decided to take a break from my recently neglected blog...
How crazy does that sound ? Really, looking from the outside, a break is the last thing i need

Let me break it down for you
I procrastinate from blogging. Almost like it is a chore, an untouched assignment or a rail of overly-crinkled ironing

Lately my internal monolgue has followed along the lines of 'OMG quick take a photo of that, no don't have a bite first. Damn, now its ruined...oh well i guess i'll put off that what i did this weekend post until next weekend' I make thinly veiled excuses, to myself, about why i havent written a post in just over a month.

I have decided, however, on a plan of action, no longer will posting be a willy nilly habit, but rather something i look forward to & feel inspired about ! I really want this blog to flourish ! I want all my ideas & flat-lays to play out on these pages (screens?)

So, until April i will be on hiatus ! I have big plans :)

Thanks for sticking with me :)

Lessons learnt from our Engagement Party

Last Saturday (March 15th) we had our engagement party !
I am really glad we decided to have one, it was a pretty good night & i did have fun but more importantly it led me to discover a few vital lessons about planning a party. I think the best thing i can take from our party is that it was like a trial run & i'll feel much more prepared once i start planning a wedding.

This is where it gets real though, i want to tell you about the biggest regrets i have from our party, the first being:

- Not going with my gut when it comes to inviting people (in short, there were a group of people i felt obliged to invite who turned up late, didn't say hello, sat down at 1 table for the whole night, pretty much judged everyone else around them, drank all of 1 particular beer, didn't mingle with other people they knew or even speak to us for the short time they were there & then said nothing more that 'cya' as they left...to be honest, until they got there i hadn't even noticed the lack of their presence.)

- Thinking a few strings of fairy lights, bunting, balloons & flower arrangement would transform a fairly plain hall

- Not spending time talking to the people i like the most

- Trying harder than i should to help people enjoy themselves

- Feeling bad about the way i looked for the whole night

- Stressing about pointless things in the lead up

- Not helping my mum more with the food & kitchen clean up

- Worrying about what people thought of me whilst i was dancing

- Not taking more photos

- Not making a speech


Wow, i sound negative. I suppose the reason for that is the fact that i had a major fall on the night.
A good friend of mine was a bit upset & sick in the bathroom, so naturally i was there with her trying to make her feel better, i was really worried about her & wanted to make sure she was ok ! All she wanted was to be taken home & a bottle of water so i rushed out of the bathroom to find her partner & to grab her a bottle of water...on my way i (stupidly) ran towards the kitchen and low & behold someone had just spilt a beer. I slipped & fell pretty hard on the wooden floorboards hitting my chin & wrist. It hurt, it really hurt.

My dad was on his way to clean up the spill & was standing right there when i fell over. He grabbed me into a big hug straight away & asked me if i was alright. Now i don't know about you guys but if something has gone wrong, and your mum or dad appear to ask you if you're alright, it automatically triggers tears. I can be as strong as anyone else, until my parents are there.

So my dad was hugging me & my internal monologue was 'DONT CRY, do not cry!' i pulled away & got to the kitchen, got the water & hid in the bathroom for a while, realising how bad i felt. I had a 5 minute pity party with a can of Coke as my ice pack.

For the rest of the night i tried my best to smile & enjoy it but i just felt horrible. I really felt defeated &  i still do. I feel like all my hard work had produced a less than impressive outcome. I feel used as a 'free night out' by some of the guests, i felt like a bad person for not making a speech thanking the people who helped us out, i feel like we don't deserve the gifts or money people were kind enough to give us, i just feel so negative towards the whole night. Sigh.

In order to not sounds like a massive whiner, there were some positive outcomes from the night:

- Dancing with my grandma before she left & feeling amazing that she was having a good time !

- Organising an amazing wood fired pizza catering company

- Seeing alot of my family reconnecting & enjoying spending time with each other

- Taking the time to realise all the wonderfully supportive girls & guys we have around us & knowing we will have so many choices when we (finally) pick our bridal party

- Randomly going up & kissing M throughout the night, this reminded me how lucky i am to be marrying such a beautiful person

So there it is ! A raw & somewhat real insight into our engagement party.
It actually felt really good to be able to write that out & get it off my chest. I'm still dwelling on a few things from the night, but am trying to be positive & make the wedding the best day of our lives

Did you have any engagement party mishaps ? Was there anything from the night you reget ?

I would love to hear some of your stories
x

an iHerb haul !

So yesterday night i received my very first iHerb haul.

It is now safe to say that this wont be my last !

i LOVE this site ! There are so many great brands & items that i've heard mentioned but have never been able to get my hands on.

i Herb is definitely worth taking a look at, if you've never been iHerb or only casually browsed it once or twice, maybe my haul will give you some inspiration to make a purchase !

Here is what i bought...

From left to right (sort of)...

* ELF High Definition Powder - in Sheer

* ELF Tone Correcting Concealer - in Ivory

* Celestial Seasonings Herbal Tea - Cinnamon Apple Spice 

* Celestial Seasonings Chai Tea - Sweet Coconut Thai 

* Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

* ELF Baked Blush - in Peachy Cheeky

* Better Stevia - Glycerite 

* Better Stevia - French Vanilla 

* ELF Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter - in Fair / Glow 

* ELF Matte Lip Colour - Coral 

The first thing from my haul that i was super excited about were the 2 flavours of Celestial Seasonings tea i picked up ! I have been a hardcore fan of the Sleepytime Vanilla tea since i saw it on Elle Fowler's channel in like 2010 & by hardcore i mean i have like 8 boxes stashed from when coles stopped selling it. I do like me some tea ! I thought i would try some new flavours & lately i have been having soy milk with everything, what goes well with soy milk ? Chai tea of course ! After i read Emma's review i knew i had to try the Sweet Coconut Thai from Celestial ! I love coconut & i love chai & oh my, this is delish !! I like mine really hot with about a 1/4 cup of soy milk & 4 drops of the Better Stevia - French Vanilla. As you can see from the photo i couldn't wait to photograph the box before ripping into the wrapper ! 

Mhhhhm It was so good, makes me wish it was winter though ! 

As i'm writing this i'm sipping on the Cinnamon Apple Spice, watching the winter olympics in between sentences & wearing long socks...i'm as close to winter as an Australian can get in February ! I like the Cinnamon Apple, it's an especially nice change as i usually don't drink herbal teas (besides my beloved Sleepytime) this flavour definitely doesn't need added sweetener & has alot of tang to it ! It's really lovely if you like apples + cinnamon 

Yum ! I could see myself buying both of these flavours again 

To go with my delicious new tea flavours i grabbed a couple of the stevia drops to try. Can you believe these cost me $1 each ? I know, neither can i ! 

Seriously, i have seen similar drops in my local health food store for around $12 a pop, i'm not stingy but one of my pet peeves is paying more than i have to for something i want !  Actually i think pretty much everyone feels that way 

I use stevia in loads of things, like tea & coffee, greek yoghurt, cooking...pretty much everything you would put sugar in, at the moment Natvia is my very favorite brand, it doesn't have that hollow, chemically after taste that some others do 

So far i have only tried the French Vanilla flavour of the stevia & i liked it. I must say i like the Natvia one better, but this is not bad. I don't know if i would buy these again at full price & because of how strong they are i'm thinking these will last me a lifetime ! 

I LOVE face sponges ! Really i do :) nothing gets my beloved Garnier BB cream on like a sponge. I also love dogs & dogs love to chew !! So you can guess where my last face sponge ended up 

I was actually using a pink Model's Prefer sponge i got as a freebie from Priceline, i liked it but i LOVE LOVE LOVE this Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge ! Wow is it good. I originally read about it over on The Wifey Chronicles

I don't know what it is about it that i like most. I  gave it a good wash before i used it & when i squeezed all the water out it squished down to about a quarter, then puffed up again

Sigh, i kinda want to reapply my foundation just to get to use it again !

one of the ends is super pointy for blemishes & around the eyes / nose 

the other end is slanted to press against the skin when blending foundation 

The next few items were all ELF products 

I've never bought or tried ELF before but i am a massive convert, recently i was reading the Kmart facebook page & noticed they're stocking ELF from the end of February / Early March ! Such good news 

I also popped into my local Kmart store over the weekend & noticed the cosmetics department was pretty much empty, makes me think they're overhauling the whole section 

Um who else is excited !! 

If you haven't ever tried ELF, hold out for Kmart to stock it, but i'll think you'll end up loving it ! 

This powder is amazing ! I have read so many reviews on it & i thought like good could it be ? After using it though i understand the hype, it's the only powder i've ever used that gets the perfect dewy to matte ratio ! It's the best, try some ! 

Oooooh this blush is pretty

I first saw this blush on Emma's blog too ! 

It is such a pretty shade, so glad i picked one up 

It has a nice shimmer to it but not so much that it's overpowering, the colour is a perfect peachy coral 

Swoon, i love makeup...

I grabbed this tone correcting concealer too, which if you've been reading my blogs for a while you may have noticed my fascination with concealers. It's a nice, light concealer which is buildable 

The other concealer i grabbed was this dual under eye concealer & highlighter, i adore a good under eye concealer & am yet to find my holy grail (i'm lusting for cle de peau) this one works well for me on a day where i've had alot of sleep & only need light coverage. The highlighter is great too & sits really well under my brow bone. I'm looking forward to playing with this a bit more 

Unblended...

Blended...

Finally i picked up the Matte Lip Colour from ELF in Coral

I really neglect my lips when it comes to my daily face, i have a few of the Revlon / Saavy lip tint sticks in my bag but i very rarely reach for them. 

This pencil is lovely though, i havent tried it on my lips yet but i think it will be a great & staggered way to work myself into wearing lip products 

And that's a wrap ! 

I hope you liked seeing the things i picked up in my first even iherb haul, i know i love reading hauls...if you've recently hauled on your blog post your link below cause i would love to check it out :) 

Also, if you've had any great find from iHerb lemme know ! 

Enjoy your weekend & until next time 

xx