A Vampire Makeup Tutorial

Hello!

So today I have something a little different to share with you!

A couple of weeks ago, my sister asked me to do her makeup for a Halloween party, and I ended up turning her into a creepy looking vampire - inspired by The Vampire Diaries.

It turned out really well (if I do say so myself), so I thought I'd recreate it and film the process - partly just to record what I'd done in case I ever felt the need to dress up as a vampire again, and partly because I've been obsessed with youtube makeup tutorials for years and I was finally ready to dive in and give it a go myself!

Let me know what you think of the look and video (if you watch it... sorry it's a little awkward!) Hopefully it can give you a little inspiration if you have a costume party coming up... or maybe for Halloween next year? :)

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Lauren

xxx

My Style Diary - White Lace and Rambling About Capsule Wardrobes

Hello :)

Long time no see! I've been slacking with the blog lately, but I'm back with a quick outfit post, featuring a white lace dress (you know I love my white).

This Forever New dress has been in my wardrobe for a few years, and although I love it, I can count on one hand the number of times I've worn it. Hopefully this summer it will get a little more love as it is a beautiful dress.

The past few months  I've again been experimenting with dressing with a "Capsule Wardrobe", loosely following the Project 333 guidelines, which involves wearing 33 pieces for three months (one season).

The idea is that having a more minimal, streamlined wardrobe makes the process of getting dressed each day so much simpler, and it eliminates that common dilemma of "a wardrobe full of clothes, but nothing to wear" that I'm sure most people have experienced at some point!

Having a smaller, more streamlined but well edited wardrobe, full of only pieces you love, that all work together and suit your lifestyle, really does help to solve this problem! For me, it's really helped me to appreciate what I have and has actually made me more creative in how I put outfits together because I'm not so overwhelmed with choice!

My Spring Capsule Wardrobe has been going really well, and I'm really enjoying it. Having said that though, I do have to admit that this dress was not one of my 33 pieces! I'm not being super strict with myself about the numbers though. (That's not really what it's about anyway).

 Overall I've simplified, and for me that's enough.

I haven't discussed it a whole lot here on the blog, but this year I've really been delving into the concept of "minimalism" and just generally trying to live more simply and intentionally, and simplifying my wardrobe has definitely been a big part of this. I'm still a long way from where I want to be, but just having this change in mindset has made a such a huge difference. It's something I'm planning on talking about a lot more - but I'll save that for another post.

(This didn't end up being so quick after all!)

Hope you're having a great day!

Lauren

xxx

Dress - Forever New

Shoes - Aldo

Watch - Thomas Sabo

Ten Things I LOVE About Spring

It's that magical time of year again... that amazing time where the arrival of brighter days, blue skies, spring flowers and just that warmth in the air has me a bit ridiculously giddy with excitement!

There's just something about springtime that feels so fresh and full of possibility and anticipation, and every year I've posted a few photos on the blog and declared my love for the season. This year I thought I'd delve a bit deeper and make a little list of the things that, for me at least, make this such a fabulous time of year. It's nothing groundbreaking, but hopefully it'll help you remember to notice the simple things...

So here we have it - Ten things I adore about Spring

1. The longer, brighter days

- Even if you're up early and heading out to work, at least it's light now when you roll out of bed! Admittedly we are pretty lucky here in Perth, with beautiful sunny days not uncommon even in the middle of winter, but there's just something about waking up to natural light that makes mornings

so

much easier!

2. That warmth in the air

- there's just something about the feel of things heating up that you can't beat. There's that smell of spring in the air, the promise that warmer days are just around the corner, the fact that you can go out without a jumper - it's just so free-ing!

A couple of weeks ago the temperature made it's way up to 30 degrees, and even though I was at work and inside all day, just looking out the window  and feeling that warmth in the air made it feel like holidays were on their way! I guess it's just an association I have from my school days... but it's still a great feeling!

3. Enjoying long walks in the sunshine

 - Spring is truly the best time of year to get outside and enjoy your surroundings. Whether you like long, relaxing walks or prefer to pick up the pace, the weather is just perfect any time of day. I love going for a walk around my neighbourhood in the evenings, spending the morning strolling by the river or exploring King's Park on the weekends, and just getting out for a quick walk around the block during my lunch break. 

4. So much colour everywhere

 - One of the reasons I love going for walks this time of year is that there is just so much colour all around. Flowers are bursting out everywhere you look and there's just so much beauty around! That sounds so cheesy, but it's true!

Tom laughs at me when we go for a walk because I'm seriously like a little kid - all excited about the next pretty flower we come across and having to stop every few meters to examine and photograph it!

The wildflowers are out in Kings Park at the moment so I definitely recommend getting down there if you're in Perth!

5. Spring fashion

 - It's time to put away those dark winter clothes and coats and bring out all the brights! Floral dresses, sandals, shorts and of course those white floaty tops I have a particular penchant for - this is the fashion I live for! I've made no secret here on the blog that I'm not a huge fan of wintery wear, so this time of year is my wardrobe's time to shine. I've mentioned before I'm trying out a capsule wardrobe, and while it worked really well for winter, I have to admit I'm struggling a little with my Spring capsule - there's just so many pretty summery clothes that I love so I'm having difficulty narrowing things down! I might have to rethink the capsule wardrobe idea (for the warmer months anyway), but we'll see what happens and I'll keep you updated!

6. Spring beauty 

- There's just something about pastel painted nails, light, shimmery eyeshadows and bright pink lipstick that brings a smile to my face. Even though I tend to wear this kind of look all year round, it's extra perfect now that the weather is warming up!

7. That urge you get to spring clean

 - I love the rush of energy and motivation I get that spurs me on to have a good clear out, declutter and just generally put things in order at this time of year. I guess it's called "Spring Cleaning" for a reason. This whole year I've been slowly sorting through my things and letting things go in an effort to live a more minimalistic lifestyle, but now that it's Spring (and also because I've just read Marie Kondo's book - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying), I'm feeling extra motivated!

8. Feeling inspired to be more healthy

 - When it's cold and rainy, all I want to do is curl up inside and indulge in a little too much comfort food, but now that the weather's so much cheerier, the thought of fresh fruit, salads and just generally making better food choices is so much more appealing! The fact that all the summer fruits are coming out definitely helps. Hello peaches!

9. Everyone seems to be a little happier 

- Is it just me, or do people in general just seem to be friendlier around this time of year? There's something about sunny days that seems to make almost everyone feel that little bit cheerier, and you can just see it in people's faces and the way they go about their day and interact with people. From people I work with, patients I see, random people you walk past in the street, everyone just seem to be that little bit more upbeat.

 ...and that's always a good thing - "Happy people just don't shoot their husbands..." ;)

10. The promise that Summer Is Coming!

- Even though I'm working now and don't get to enjoy those gloriously long summer breaks, Summer always gives me that "free" feeling.

Holidays (even if they are kinda short), Christmas, long hot nights, beach fun times, ice-cream - all good things to look forward to. ...and the anticipation of it is half the fun! 

What's your favourite thing about Spring?

(Or I guess Autumn if you're in the Northern hemisphere!)

Lauren

xxx

My Style Diary - Perfect Sunny Sunday

Hello Hello :)

So I'm back with another bunch of photos from a few weeks ago, these ones from a particularly perfect Sunday. 

I don't know if I've mentioned before, but my mood is often hugely influenced by the weather, and beautiful sunny days (particularly when it's been weeks of gloomy, cold weather) always put the biggest smile on my face and make me a bit ridiculously giddy with happiness (does anyone else get like this or is it just me?)

Anyway, these photos are from one of those days where I was just feeling so incredibly happy and grateful for everything. Nothing crazy exciting or out of the ordinary happened, but we just enjoyed the simple things - going out for a morning walk along the river, breakfast at a cafe nearby, visiting our local library for the first time since we moved to our new place and borrowing a few books (on a side note, I highly recommend reading "The Secret Keeper" by Kate Morton - it is a great read!), just my perfect kind of day.

Anyway, I hope you are having a lovely Sunday right now!

Lots of Love

Lauren

xxx

Parka - Forever New

Jumper - Country Road

Jeans - Country Road

Scarf - Sportsgirl

Necklace - Mimco

Shoes - Converse

The Foodie Post - A Healthy Chocolate, Banana and Strawberry Smoothie

Hello hello :)

Today I have another "Foodie Post" to share with you!

I literally just whipped up this smoothie about an hour ago, and it turned out rather well (if I do say so myself), so I figured I should document it before I forget the recipe! 

(Plus I had a punnet of fresh strawberries from the farmer's market and couldn't resist the opportunity to photograph them - strawberries are just so photogenic!)

I used almond milk for this recipe (I've been trying to eat a little less dairy lately) and it tasted great! I find almond milk works really well for smoothies and gives them a nice, slightly nutty flavour. I also used frozen bananas so the smoothie would be nice and thick without needing to add any yoghurt. 

The cacao powder adds a nice chocolatey-ness, but needs a bit of sweetening so I threw in two dates which worked perfectly. Obviously you can adjust to taste - this is just what I happened to use today.

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

*2 frozen bananas

*A handful of fresh or frozen strawberries

*2 teaspoons of cacao powder

*2 dates

*Approx 300ml almond milk (adjust depending on how thick you want your smoothie)

*Cinnamon to sprinkle on top

Blend together, sprinkle over a little cinnamon, and there you have a yummy, chocolatey fruit smoothie!

Hope you enjoy - let me know if you give it a try :)

Lots of Love

Lauren

xxx

PS: You could even turn this into a healthy version of ice-cream if you wanted to just pop it in the freezer for a while!