April Beauty Favourites

For me April was a nail polish month. I fell in love with so many gorgeous polishes. But before we talk about stunning shades lets talk about my new favourite base coat. A good base coat can be a game changer! The Complete Care 7 in 1 Nail Treatment from Sally Hansen is a fabulous base coat. It dries quickly and has been doing wonders for my neglected nails. It dries clear and shiny.

The shade 'Rose Glass' from Sally Hansen's Salon Manicure collection is now one of my all-time favourite polishes and that is saying a lot for somebody who has hundreds of nail polishes. It is a gorgeous warm-toned pale pink that is so very pretty. It isn't nude but is still appropriate for any occasion.

'Show Us Your Tips!' from OPI's new 'New Orleans' collection is like no other polish I own. It is an amazing periwinkle blue-toned mauve (does that make sense) with silver shimmer. The formula is quite thin so you definitely need more than two coats. However I am more than willing to overlook this because once you build this up to be 100% opaque it is 100% stunning. Go google some swatches, it might look meh in the bottle but on the nail it is stunning. Seriously.

Lanolips Intense Hand Balm is a balm that you warm up and then it sinks into your skin. This balm is great if you have very dry hands. I like to spot apply it onto my cuticles and fingers however I wouldn't recommend them applying it all over your hands until the end of the night because you can "feel" it on your hands. Or maybe I just apply way to much?! Either way I know this will be great for the coming winter months.

Prada's 'Candy' Perfume has been my go-to perfume. I have been looking for a perfume that can replace my beloved 'So Hooked on Carmella' from Benefit which is discontinued. This one isn't identical but it is still a gorgeous perfume. I'm rubbish at describing scents so I googled it and apparently it is caramel, sweet, warm spicy, musky and balsamic. I say just go and have a sniff next time you are near the perfume department :)

Not technically a "beauty" favourite but it is beautiful so I'm going to quickly mention the Medium Supernatural Pouch from Mimco, isn't the print divine?!!!!!!!!

At the end of March Priceline had their famous 40% off all make-up and I brought enough foundations to cover the surface of Earth...well maybe not quite but nearly! Anyway there is not a single foundation I want to talk about. Some of them are promising but none of they instantly gained holy grail status. The search for the perfect foundation continues...let me know if you have any recommendations.

Want to check out what I loved in April last year? Here is the link to last years April Favourites: http://theblogforbeautifulliving.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/april-beauty-favourites.html 

Have a wonderful May :)

What's in my bag?

I am completely obsessed with handbags and I have been for my entire life. I thank my DNA, both my Mum and her Mum share this obsession. Having such an obsession means that I change my bags A LOT so treat this like a disclaimer. This is what my handbag looks like today, tomorrow it will probably be different, however whenever I use this specific bag this is what is in it...Oh and I guess I should mention the actual bag too! This is what I carry around with me when I use my small Longchamp Le Pliage.

• Mimco Mesh Mash Wallet - I adore the matte mesh on this wallet. I had always admired the original Mimco mesh but it was too bling for me to use everyday, even though you can't see the true matteness of the wallet in the pic, it is definitely matte! 

• Rubi Bag Tassle - Tassle keyrings seem to be "the thing" at the moment. I didn't want to splurge on one of the super nice (but super expensive) ones because it is just a keyring at the end of the day. This one was $6.95 :) Top Tip: Buy a colourful keyring that is large or has something dangly you can feel it when you are groping around in your bag, because you know...your keys are never going to be easily found!  

• Nivea Lip Balm, Vitamin Shake 'Cranberry & Raspberry' - There is always a lip balm or three in my bag! This one is my current fave, it smells so nice.

• Mac Lustre Lipstick in 'Syrup' - This is definitely the lipstick I wore the most in 2015! As it is a colour I can pretty much wear wherever and whenever it is pretty much always in my handbag :) 

• Headphones - I keep my headphones untangled by using a bulldog clip! So much easier and less embarrassing than having to detangle them everytime I pull them out of my bag.

• Typo A5 Weekly Buffalo Diary - I'll be the first to admit my memory is not that great! So a diary is a necessity. Last year I tried relying on the calendar on my phone and whilst I LOVE how it syncs between my laptop and iPad I have always been a stationary lover so this year I am using a paper diary properly again. It is also a good excuse to buy pretty pens! 

• Kikki K Metal Rollerbal Pen: Don't Follow Your Dreams, Chase them - This pen is so cute I couldn't leave it behind in the shop. I love how sturdy and special this pen feels.

• Mimco Stand Case - Sometimes I don't want to take a bag out (ironic considering the premise of this post!) so this is fantastic because it protects my phone and also provides me with a place to slip in some money and cards.  

• Crabtree & Evenlyn Sugar & Spice Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy - There is always a hand cream floating around the bottom of my handbag. This Christmas hand cream from Crabtree & Evelyn smells amazing and is a great hand cream. It sinks in quickly and moisturises lovely. 

• And the usual suspects: Stray hair ties, hand sanitiser. Not much to say here...

Need a new party dress?

Now that we have had the Christmas Party Season, Christmas and New Years Eve, I don't know about you but I am running out of nice dresses to wear!!! As soon as a new dress enters my rotation I tend to over-wear it, does anybody else do this?

If like me, you feel like if you don't get a new dress soon all the photos of you on Facebook will look identical, it might be time do some online shopping - yay!!! 

This gorgeous scuba dress from Boohoo has a super vibrant floral pattern and a bold black hem. Pair it with a black clutch and some chunky black wedges to tie the whole look together. Some purple nail polish would also look amazing, I'm thinking that 'Bold Sangria' from Revlon would be the perfect nail polish to wear with this dress, a deep purple. 

The link for the dress is here. Shipping from Boohoo was quick, the dress came neatly folded and clean and overall the quality of the dress is good, especially since it was a steal of a price! The material is quite thick so it isn't the most flattering dress in the world. However other dresses in this style tend to be super flattering when they are not in scuba material. 

If you are looking for something a little more casual, check out the awesome shift dresses that Boohoo currently have on their website for $30. A mono print here and a geo print here. 

The black patent leather clutch is the Black Molten Envelope from Mimco and the shoes were from Novo (approximately 2 years ago). Sidetone: the show are super comfy! 

*Dress provided by Boohoo for review purposes