A Very Special Day on Cradle Mountain - Our Engagement Story

Heya! :)

I'm finally sharing these photos from December, our second last day in Tassie - the day that we spent about seven hours hiking around Cradle Mountain, and

the day Tom proposed!!

Even though Tom and I had talked about getting engaged for a while (we'd been together for 6 years at that point), I honestly didn't think it was going to happen on this particular trip, so when Tom proposed at the (almost) top of Cradle Mountain, I was so surprised!

It was actually a spontaneous proposal, Tom hadn't been planning on doing it that day, so it was a bit of a surprise for him too! hehe ;)

Tom told me afterwards that he'd been trying for a while to think of the best way to propose - something that wasn't too corny or overdone, but that would be really special, and while we were walking along this plateau boardwalk area, amongst the beautiful mountain scenery with no-one else around, the perfect moment just sort of presented itself! We were sitting down on a step having a rest,  I got up to continue on when Tom said "Just wait a moment ... I guess this is as good a time as any... I could plan and plan, but I don't know when we're going to have a setting as amazing as this... so..." 

After that point, I actually can't remember anything else he said, as I was completely surprised. I just teared up and kept saying "Really?! Are you serious?!"  over and over while giving him a big hug and eventually saying "Yes of course!". My response was kinda ridiculous, but I'd been thinking about this moment for a while, and my brain just wasn't processing the fact that it was actually really happening! 

(Thank god no-one else was around to see it though! It would have been very embarrassing!)

So after that, we actually had another four hours to walk back, and the route we took ended up being way more difficult than the way we'd come! There were points where we were scrambling over rocks and thinking ... "we better not fall because there's no-one around and no phone reception!" It was a great walk though, and it gave us a little time to let it sink in - we were super excited and happy, but we didn't really feel any different!

I'd actually been a little grumpy before, after 3 hours walking in the sun and having a little stumble, but after the proposal I couldn't have been happier! My mum joked that Tom knew he needed to cheer me up so that's why he proposed at that moment! When we told Tom's parents, his mum was like "Well you're lucky she said yes - that could have been a very awkward walk back if she'd said no!" ;)

It was such a special and perfect moment and Tom really did a great job at surprising me (and himself too actually!) When we got back to Perth we went and looked at rings together and ended up having a beautiful ring custom made. I honestly couldn't be happier and I really do feel like the luckiest girl in the world. It sound's so cheesy but it's true!

I know this is a very personal thing to be sharing, but I've said it many times before, this blog is like a diary and I love looking back at it, so of course I wanted to document this very special moment here. 

 I'm looking forward to blogging more about our wedding planning so hopefully you'll enjoy seeing  few wedding related posts!

Lots of Love

Lauren

xxx

My Travel Makeup Bag (basically all my favourite products)

I'm currently down south in Margaret River for a long weekend getaway, so I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at the contents of my travel makeup bag. These photos were actually taken during our Tassie holiday (and I never got around to sharing them), but everything is pretty much the same!

While I do have a fairly extensive collection of makeup, I tend to stick with my tried and tested favourites the majority of the time, but particularly when it comes to travelling. I usually go for a fairly simple look with light, shimmery shadow on the eyes and a brighter lip. 

This is basically what I use on a day to day basis, my "Capsule Makeup Collection" if you will...

1.

Shiseido Natural Finish Cream Concealer

- I love this concealer because, as the name suggests, it does have a lovely natural finish, but also decent coverage. I like a really natural look to my makeup, so instead of wearing foundation, I tend to just pat this concealer onto any problem areas (mainly on redness around my nose and under my darker under-eye area), and then lightly dust a powder over to set. It gives a more polished look than bare skin, but still keeps things very natural. Pretty much a "no-makeup makeup look". I have also been loving the

Shiseido Sheer Eye Zone Corrector

. It's technically for around the eye area,  but I use it around my nose and chin too, just to cover any redness and it works well for me. I love the brightening effect it has. 

2.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder - Dim Light

- If you read pretty much any beauty blog you would have heard of this product range before. The idea is the different powders "mimic the effect of the most flattering light", softening the way light reflects on the skin and concealing imperfections. I use this powder pretty much everyday, and I really do love the soft effect it gives. Particularly as someone who doesn't wear foundation on a regular basis, I love the overall smoothing and brightening effect it has - it's barely detectable, but just makes the skin look that little bit more perfect. 

3.

Nars Laguna Bronzer

- My favourite (and only) bronzer. I've nearly used this all up and will be repurchasing when I do. 

4.

Mac Eyeshadow Quad - Brulé, Arena, All That Glitters, Wedge

- I love that you can build your own mac palette and the quad is perfect for travel. These four have been my standard "everyday" eyeshadows for a long time now. I use either Arena or All That Glitters all over the lid, Wedge in the crease and Brulé just under the brow. It's light and shimmery and very brightening which I love. I don't often wear eyeliner but when I do I usually just use a darker shadow along the lashline which gives a softer effect. If I'm just bringing the one eyeshadow palette, I'll usually swap out Arena for Mac's Espresso eyeshadow. 

5.

Urban Decay Naked2 Eyeshadow Palette

- This is the only thing I haven't brought with me on this trip. It's a great palette with a large range of shades, but I do prefer the quality of Mac shadows. I just find them a little easier to work with so tend to reach for them first. This palette is great for travel though as it has everything you need (including a black shadow which I use as eyeliner). 

6.

Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil - Soft Brunette

- I purchased this pencil after watching countless youtube reviews of different brow products and hearing people rave about this particular one. I haven't tried any others, so I don't have anything to compare this to, but I'm onto my second one and still liking it so it gets a thumbs up from me. 

7.

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara

. This mascara gives pretty dramatic lashes which I like, but my favourite and the one I'll go back to once I've finished with this is the

Maybelline Full 'N Soft

. I prefer the more natural look it gives, but it can still be built up to give a nice full, thick look. I also always curl my lashes first with the

Shu Uemura

eyelash curler (the best eyelash curler ever - definitely worth the higher price tag)

8.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissible Balm Stain - Crush

- I love these balm stains because they really are a great stain. Apply, blot and they'll stay for hours. This particular colour is really beautiful. It's  pretty dark and intense when first applied, but once blotted it's a beautiful deep berry/pink that's very wearable.

9.

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil - Dragon Girl

- This will forever be my favourite red. It's bright and bold but with a hint of pink that makes it really wearable, and the fact that it's matte means it lasts well and you don't have to worry about it ending up on your teeth! (A problem I had with the Nars Satin Lip Pencils). Also, this is apparently the lipstick that Taylor Swift wears ;)

10. 

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet - Nude-ist

 - My current favourite nude liquid lipstick for when I don't feel like wearing anything too bright. As you can see I like to bring a few different lip products - usually one red, one berry and something a little more natural. This one is definitely on the darker, more pinky side of nudes which is the only nude I ever really go for. I like the matte formula although it can be a little drying, so I'll probably look for something different when this one runs out. Anyone have any suggestions for a similar shade? 

11.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush - Exposed

- My favourite blush that goes with every makeup look. I have quite a collection of blushes (and I do switch them up fairly often), but when I travel this is always the one I bring as it looks good no matter what lip colour or eyeshadow you're wearing. 

I hope you enjoyed this little look into my makeup bag. I always find it interesting to see what people bring with them when they travel (I love watching those videos on youtube - they're a real guilty pleasure!) What are your favourite travelling makeup products?

Lots of Love

Lauren

xxx

My Style (and Travel) Diary - Stripes and the BEST raspberry ice-cream

So we're getting close to the end of my Tasmania photos... it's been really nice slowly making my way through them, remembering the little details and what a great holiday we had. 

These photos are from our second last day as we were making our way from Cradle Mountain to Launceston. We of course had to stop somewhere for breakfast, and the Raspberry Farm Cafe didn't disappoint. We also managed to fit in an ice-cream after breakkie and I'm pretty sure it was the best sorbet I've ever had. The raspberries in Tassie were just soo good - I wish we could get ones like that here! 

As usual I was wearing a pretty relaxed, comfy outfit. I never used to be that into stripes, but they've grown on me lately and this top has been getting a lota love. I particularly love pairing it with a red lip and my ray ban sunnies. It makes me feel a little more glamourous :)

Anyway, I'm gonna leave it at that today - I hope you've had a nice Monday. To be honest mine has been pretty crappy as I woke up with a migraine :( but fortunately feeling quite  a bit better now. I've basically been trying to just rest all day, but at least I've managed to do one somewhat productive thing, now that I've written this post.  Sorry to end on a low note -  but this blog is kinda a "diary" of sorts for me, and I do like to include little bits of what is really going on from time to time. Do any of you suffer from migraines too? I'm fortunate in that I don't get them too often, but they really do knock me down and it's pretty sucky when you lose a whole day because you literally can't function properly. 

Anyway enough complaining!

Have a great Monday night

Lots of Love

Lauren

xxx

Top - Roxy

Jeans - Country Road

Shoes - Roxy

Bag - Jigsaw

Sunnies - Ray ban

My Travel Diary - Richmond

On our way from Hobart to Swansea, we drove through the beautiful village of Richmond. It's such a sweet little place, so picture-perfect with it's old Georgian buildings lining the main street and the rolling hills in the background.

We of course had to stop and take a look at the Richmond Bridge. It's the oldest bridge still in use in Australia and was built by convicts in the 1820s!

This particular day, the weather was so beautiful and sunny, there were ducks waddling along the shore and families picnicking on the grass, with the beautiful bridge in the background, and it was one of those moments that just felt so perfect and relaxing. I'm replaying it in my memory right now and I'm getting that effect like in the movies when they flashback to "happy times" with the slightly hazy filter and dreamy music. I realise that just sounds so corny but I swear I just had one of those "flashbacks" hehe... maybe I've been watching too much Netflix lately ;)

While wandering around, we found this beautiful little secluded spot and my inner child decided I just

had

to climb the tree. The climbing part was fine and a lot of fun, but I then also decided to jump from that branch, and it didn't end too well! (It was higher than I thought!) My landing was definitely not the most graceful, but I guess looking back now it's kinda a funny memory (although I don't think I'll be jumping out of trees again any time soon!)

We strolled around, popping into cute little vintage/antique stores, sampling some delicious jam from a local jam maker (we brought home the Raspberry Jam and Whisky Marmalade), and taking a look in Sweets and Treats - The Richmond Lolly Shop. I'm actually not that big a fan of lollies (I'm more of a chocolate lover), but I just adore lolly shops - the the colourful jars of sweets lined up along the walls are just so eye-catching and make me feel like I could be in Honeydukes! (Basically I'm a fan of anything that reminds me of Harry Potter!)

Another interesting attraction that we visited, was the Old Hobart Town Model Village. It's an accurate model of Hobart in the 1820s, built from the original plans from that time. It's definitely worth a look if you're visiting Richmond, as the attention to detail is pretty incredible!

We also took a stroll up the hill and had a look at what is apparently the oldest Roman Catholic Church in Australia. There was a mass on at the time so we couldn't go inside, but it was a very beautiful old church from what we could see. I keep joking with Tom that we should get married there, as the whole place was just so picturesque!

So that was our visit to Richmond!

I hope you're having a great Sunday!

Lots of Love

Lauren

xxx

My Style (and Travel) Diary - White Lace and Denim at Kate's Berry Farm

Good morning! (or afternoon... or evening...)

So it's Sunday morning and I'm sitting here with my tea and avocado toast and going through more Tasmania photos. There's something so relaxing about blogging on a Sunday morning - it makes me feel very calm and zen (and I've been a little stressed out lately, so it's a nice change!)

This particular day, we decided to take it easy and just relax. We had a slow start to the morning, enjoying a cup of tea outside and appreciating the amazing view. We were staying at

Hamptons on the Bay

* in Swansea, and it's such a beautiful place.

We then went for a walk down to the beach, and later decided to check out Kate's Berry Farm, which was just a short drive from where we were staying. Here we had the yummiest raspberry pie I have ever eaten - I highly recommend it!

As usual when it comes to relaxing days, I opted for wearing my comfy boyfriend jeans and paired them with my favourite white top. I've probably raved about this top numerous times already, but it really is my failsafe - "just throw it on and feel fabulous" top.

That lace detail gets me every time - it's pretty and feminine, but not at all fussy, and helps make a very simple outfit that little bit more special. Do you have a particular piece like that in your wardrobe?

Anyway, I hope you have a great Sunday!

Lots of Love

Lauren

xxx

Top - Topshop

Jeans - 7 for all mankind

Shoes - Roxy

Sunglasses - Rayban

Watch - Calvin Klein

*Hamptons on the Bay happens to be my parent's place, so we were lucky enough to stay there for free, but it really is a gorgeous place so I'd definitely recommend checking it out if you're looking for accommodation in Swansea. They have a main house if you have a larger group, as well as a number of smaller cabins available :)