Birthday Snaps :)

Honestly I can't believe how quick this year is flying by... we celebrated my Dad's, Mum's and my birthday on Friday night at Nok Nok in Darling Quarter.  The food was superb. Definitely one of my top Thai restaurants in Sydney! I really recommend the Moo Pings :) We finished off the night with desserts and hot beverages at Guylian cafe.

Lavender and homemade burgers

What I'm loving right now: lavender nailpolish! This is by Etude House that I bought in Malaysia :)
What I ate for dinner today: homemade beef burgers

It looks like I cant assemble a burger properly but we did have avocado, tomato sauce, dijon mustard, beef patty, mesclun salad mix and cheese in that burger. What a feast! Delicious :)

Review! Dove Sensitive Skin Nourishing Body Wash

I am really enjoying doing reviews - as they are opportunities to test the new products introduced in the Australian market and more importantly gives me and idea of the things I love and the things I don't love.

I received the Dove Sensitive Skin Nourishing Body Wash from beautyheaven to trial. Now I had a phase with Lush where I would watch YT videos of girls raving about Lush and it instantaneously landed on my wishlist.  But really, its just a soap - seriously. Now I am content with just using Palmolive bar soap from Coles - it does the job and doesnt burn a hole in my wallet.

So anyway I trialled the Dove product with an open mind for about 2-3 weeks.  And here are my thoughts.

Pros
* Scent - personally I do not like overpowering smells.  As expected, Dove bodywash smelled like any other Dove product out there, clean, fresh and simple. I like it!
* Price - very affordable, only $8 for a 375ml bottle!
* Easy to use, just open the bottle and pour some of the contents onto a lathering/body puff. You can buy a body puff just about anywhere, chemists, priceline, etc
* I felt very clean immediately after my shower and also felt quite soft and moisturised

Cons
* The bodywash claims to be super moisturising and nourishing. Honestly I did not find the product to outperform my Palmolive bar soap. I don't think it performed beyond my expectations. It's Dove.
* My body was quite dry and scaly the morning after.  Now this is after I put on sorbolene. There are a couple points to note: a) It could really be Sorbolene's fault, b) it is freezing and dry in Sydney at the moment, c) I am prone to dry and scaly legs (sigh) so it might take a litre of moisturiser to keep my legs supple and soft, d) who bares their legs during winter anyway?

Overall rating!
My overall rating is 2.5 stars out of 5.  I thought the bodywash was very average and it claimed to be moisturising and nourishing, yet my skin did not feel hydrated. Would I repurchase? No :(

Note - the pictures above are my first official photos on this blog using my new DSLR! Do you like? It was an early birthday present from my hubby and I love it!! :) Expect more pretty photos coming up!

Collective Haul! Topshop, Sportsgirl, Priceline and more...

Happy Sunday everyone :) Hope your weekend is going well! I do not want it to end!!! We came back from our Singapore and Malaysia trip earlier in the week and I wanted to share my haul with you plus some other pieces I bought during my time off. I've also included some of my favourite moments during the trip :) We loved the food and exploring new and different countries! I want to go back to KL to visit the islands!

Wedding: Fi & Dave

Back in May, I did the makeup for Fi's wedding including her 3 bridesmaids.  I met Fi & Dave through dragonboat and I was super excited and honoured to do  her makeup on their big day :) I absolutely loved her traditional gown and her princess wedding dress even more! I thought the choice of coral against an autumn backdrop really made the bridesmaids dresses pop! The photos are stunning and were taken by AnnieQ Photography.

Review! Nailene So Natural Everyday French

So this is only the second item I have received from beautyheaven for review and it is my favourite so far! I have tried stick on nails before (press n go) and they were hopeless...bulky, tacky and so obviously fake!  So i was a bit skeptical with trying these nails by Nailene but they looked and felt amazing (and attracted a lot of compliments)!

The nails I trialed were in the colour "Short and Sheer" which was probably the most natural colour you can get.  They retail for $16.99 a packet and it comes with the nails, glue, nail file and a stick-thing (I think to assist with taking the nails off).

Pros
* Nails were very light and not bulky
* Nails moulded perfectly to the curvature of your real nails
* Nails looked reasonably natural :)
* Very easy application
* When you run your fingers through your hair, it won't get caught in your hair (seriously)
* Relatively sturdy and durable (see con point below)
* Didn't feel like you were wearing fake nails
* French manicure did not peel/chip
* Lasted for about 4-5 days (see con point below)
* Easy to take off, minimal nail damage
* Isn't crazy expensive

Cons
* The packet reads "7 days guarantee" - one nail fell off on the 4th day of wear
* The shape of the thumb nail did not match my thumb nail, making my thumb nail look fake if you look at it closely
* If a nail does fall off, not much variety in nail sizes for your index and ring finger size nails

Overall recommendation
I would recommend this to anyone who wants beautifully manicured, natural looking nails for a specific event or for no longer than 4-5 days.  Star rating is 4.5 out of 5. I am a bit of a nailpolish nut and would definitely repurchase!! :)

Thank you beautyheaven for giving me the opportunity to review!

Apologies for the quality of the pic below! Took these with my iphone at night...

Haul time!!

Don't we all love sales :)