NOTD! Cute as a button by Essie

Essie's "cute as a button" - this is THE perfect colour for summer :) A creamy coral pink! I actually picked this bottle up in a drugstore in San Fran about two years ago and I'm still in love with it. Definitely one of my holy grail nailpolishes!

What are your favourite summer polishes?

Btw, hope you all had a beautiful Christmas and enjoying the countdown to the New Year! xx

Spago, Beverly Hills

Good Italian is hard to come by, especially in my area.  So you can imagine how happy I was to have discovered Spago at Beverly Hills.  Last weekend, we had Christmas dinner with our close friends.  I had eaten here before with the hubby so I was really excited to try more of the menu! Last time, we had ordered the squid ink pasta and the spaghetti marinara.

The table ordered the set menu at $38pp which is an awesome deal that includes entree, pasta main, dessert, coffee & tea.  It wasn't a weekday though, so I think they had a special happening probably due to Christmas time :) The customer service last weekend was quite poor - the restaurant (albeit small) was a full house and there were understaffed with only two waiters. So we waited for what felt like forever for our food to come :( However, the first time we visited Spago, the service was top notch!

Entrees

 Spago's Lobster Bisque, $13 - This was very creamy and very seafood tasting.  A bit too rich for my liking. I much prefer clam chowder lol.

Steamed mussels, $14 - This was my hubby's dish - I didnt try the mussels as I generally don't like mussels, I did have some of the delicious sauce though :)

Angus beef carpaccio, $13 - My friend's entree, I didn't try any as I don't do raw beef.

Baby octopus salad, $15 - My friend's entree.

Antipasto, $12 - Beautifully presented :)

MAINS

Lobster Bisque Risotto, $28 - The majority of the table ordered this dish as their main. I didn't try it...was still getting over my entree lol

Paperdelle Cheek's Ragu, $23 - A friend's main. I didn't try this either.

 Linguine King Prawns, $23 - This was main. Such a hearty meal, the prawns were massive, the cream sauce was so tasty and the pasta was cooked nicely.  If I wasn't full from the entree, I could have devoured this.

DESSERT

Pannacota - light with a smooth texture! Felt like I ate cream based foods all night... >.<

Gelati - chocolate, vanilla and macadamia caramel (not part of the set menu, additional $5).  I really love their gelati.

Tiramisu

My week on Instagram: December

I have really grown to love Instagram, it has to be my favourite social media app! I love how pictures can say 1000 words. 

This is my December so far on Instagram :) Follow me @cozzle85

1) Typically I don't use a HR monitor but was interested to see my stats after my weekend run. 2) Green smoothie - spinach, banana, oranges and almond milk. This is soo delicious on a Summer morning! 3) I signed up for my first 1km ocean swim! 4) I finished work early the other day and decided to go for a swim. On the way to the pool I saw this beautiful park near the water :)

1) Homemade kale chippies! 2) My 3pm snack at work. 3) Giving Emma&Tom's bars a shot...my fav is the banana! 4) After having a late one at work, treated myself to some Xio Long Bao yummo!

1) My work Christmas party outfit. 2) I've hit pan on my Inglot powder! The only makeup item that I completely use up each and every time hehe. 3) Priceline goodies. 4) One day I felt like dressing up for grocery shopping

1) Discovered sugar-free chocolate at Haighs. Best tasting one so far! 2) Oriental lilies 3) Dusk at Beverly Hills 4) Christmas pressie I received from my managers at work :)

Stand up paddle board, Bundeena Kayaks

This year, my friends and I did something different for Christmas...a Christmas day out!! Rather than our usual Christmas lunch/dinner at a fancy schmancy restaurant, we went stand up paddling and kayaking with Bundeena Kayaks.

I definitely enjoyed the activities, the company and the bbq! Below are some happy snaps :) If you haven't tried stand-up paddle boarding yet, I highly highly recommend it! Its a full body workout (i.e., core, arms, legs, back) and really tests your balance! Bundeena Kayaks is located in Bonnie Vale Picnic grounds and has the perfect bay for paddling! For two hours of paddling hire, it set us back $19 each (thanks to OurDeal! it is usually $40 for two hours).
 

Haul! Black Friday sales :)

Who doesn't love a good sale? I've noticed that the retailers have been spoiling customers with a few (many?) sales leading up to Christmas! Yay! The items I mention below are a mix of Black Friday online sales and pre-Christmas sales. I have always been a lover of spending my days (window) shopping at the mall but recently, shopping online while sprawled out on my couch drinking my latte also has its benefits...

Hope you guys enjoy the video! What are your favourite pre-Christmas and Boxing day sales?

 Dresses - Asos.  Love love love! I am super excited to wear these to weddings and other special occasions :)

Shorts and dress from Sabo Skirt.  I love the cute print and the dress is soo simple yet so pretty and feminine :)

Lace peplum top - Glassons.  What's not to love. My favourite top everrrr!

Flats - Witchery.  I am in love with these flats and have worn them to death (already).

Makeup goodies from Priceline and Skincarestore - Skindinavia makeup finishing spray from Skincarestore and the rest from Priceline :) I actually picked up the wrong mascara but oh wells. Still works amazing :)

Close up of the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pomegranate Punk. Loooove this colour (it's what I'm wearing in the video)

Tutorial! Super easy party makeup!

I am really excited for Christmas and New Years for so many reasons. Long summer days, hanging out with family and friends, the outdoors, and the general happy spirit everyone seems to be in!  It is also one of the most busiest times of the year, how is a girl supposed to squeeze in shopping when there is work to be done, parties to attend and drinks to be drunk?

So to maximise the time spent enjoying the silly season without comprising on your looks, I have a quick and super easy smokey eye look that is very wearable day or night - I know this will become my "go-to" party look!

Let me know what you think and what your favourite PARTY looks are :)

Products used in video:
- Naked palette
- Mac paintpoint in "Constructivist"
- Bobbi Brown long-wear gel eyeliner in "Black Ink"
- Benefit Mascara "They're Real" (my fav!!)
- Revlon Lip Butter in Cotton Candy

Makeup for special occasions :)

Hope you all had an amazing weekend! I absolutely loved the weather! Hello Summer, about time!

Today I wanted to share special occasion makeup looks that I did yesterday.  My dragon boat buddy (Yuen) and her friend (Alex) wanted their makeup done for a birthday party on Saturday night.  Here are the before and afters. I only resized and cropped the images below, no photoshopping!

Both gorgeous girls!! :)

NOTD! Bourjois Nailpolish in Rose Lounge

Hello lovelies :) Hope you all had a great weekend! I can't believe how quick it has flown by, weekends are soo busy this time of year! I wanted to share with you my nail of the day featuring Bourjois nailpolish in Rose Lounge. I picked this up at Priceline a couple weeks ago and I was eager to try it as it was my first Bourjois nail product ever and apparently it was the colour that Kate Middleton wore to her wedding!

The application of the polish was super easy, the brush is wider and flatter than your conventional nailpolish brush. I applied 3 coats of this product and I feel that it's still not as opaque as I'd like it to be. Nevertheless I am in love with this colour, the perfect nude, clean colour when you want a break from the brights or the deeps.

 Have you tried Bourjois nailpolish before? What are your favs?

Makeup for Pre-Wedding Photoshoot: Michelle

Happy Monday all :) I did the makeup and hair for Michelle for a pre-wedding shoot in the Blue Mountains. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before photo (she's so beautiful without makeup) but here is the finished look.  I was going for a very simple makeup look, just accentuating her eyes. These are untouched photos from my dslr in their hotel room, hoping to receive some of the photos from the shoot soon.

Pastel NOTD! Face of Australia in I'll take you to the candy shop

I'm seriously loving Pastels! I wanted to pick up ALL the colorus in the Face of Australia range!! I picked up three colours and today I'm wearing I'll take you to the candy shop by Face of Australia.

In the bottle, the colour looks quite matte with a subtle pearly shimmer.  When first applied, it is quite pearly compared to polish formulae I would usually wear.  But after a few days, I got used to the pearly-ness and it actually keeps the pastel colour quite shiny rather than some pastel polishes that lose the shine after a few days. As you can see in the picture below though, you can't really see the pearly-ness but I am just a hardcore cream polish fan hehe

Have you tried Face of Australia polish before? What did you think?

Sculptures by the Sea 2012, Bondi to Tamarama

Every year during Spring, Bondi hosts the famous Sculptures by the Sea where the scenic Bondi to Tamarama walk is filled with beautiful art pieces. We went last weekend and the event never fails to draw a crowd! Looking at these photos always makes me feel grateful of how breathtaking Sydney is. Here are some of my favourite sculptures :)

Did you go this year? What were your favourite sculptures?