H&M Australia | Melbourne GPO Opening + Mini Haul

Pictures: David Caird. Source: News Limited

At the beginning of this month, Australia's very first H&M store opened it's doors in the city of Melbourne. The store takes up the whole of Melbourne's GPO building, so as you can Imagine, It's HUGE, and I'm talkin' 3 stories huge! I spent about an hour and a half in there and didn't even see everything! None the less this is great news as it means we get everything H&M has to offer, instead of lucking out and getting the off cuts from overseas (I'm looking at you Zara!). Although I don't really have any other H&M's to compare it to, it seems our Aussie H&M lives up to the name of providing highly fashionable pieces at very low prices!

As with all new stores, can you expect to see a line to get in for the first few days, but  it has now been a little over a week since  it opened and the line for H&M still extends right round the store! I went  two days after it opened and had to queue up for about half an hour, although the line was always moving so it wasn't too bad. However, when I first arrived I took one look at how many people were lining up to get in and contemplated just leaving, but my curiosity to see what was inside was just too strong, so I sucked it up and joined the queue.  

The Interior of the store is very impressive! It's so clean, white and pristine, with the random tree here or there. To me it's almost like shopping in a really high end store but with low prices, so it's the best of both worlds! Although with the amount traffic flowing through the store all day, it was a mess! The racks were really untidy, things were out of place and just shoved anywhere as soon as someone decided that they didn't want them any more! And if you thought you had done your time lining up outside, then think again, because the line for the changing rooms was only slightly better! 

All in all, I highly rate H&M and can see great potential for more stores opening up nation wide. I just can't wait for the day when the craziness has died down and you no longer have to line up to get in, because a) I really want to go back and b) Ain't nobody got time for that!

MINI HAUL

Black turtle neck jumper - $19.95
Caramel knit jumper - $27.95
Black cami singlet - $39.95
Over the knee socks - $9.95

Collective Haul | Feat. Target, Sportsgirl, Rubi, Supre, Opp Shop...

Today I'm coming at you with another haul, even though like I said in my last beauty haul,I need to stop with the spending and start with the saving  (I clearly have no self control) *slaps wrist*. 

Aside from that I thought I would show you some of the things that I have recently picked up, just in case you were interested!

Quilted bomber jacket ,white top ,grey quilted top & tartan jeans - Target
New Balance Runners -  Rebel Sports

I don't know if any of you have been to Target recently, but I feel like over the past couple of years they have really stepped up their game! I am loving the new season of clothing that they have brought out, which has left me very pleasantly surprised. It's great that Target is putting in more of an effort to catch on with the season's trends and I found my self wanting to buy a lot more pieces instead of the usual one off gem.

It was also about time I upgraded my 4 year old runners, which desperately needed  to be chucked out! So I picked up these funky New Balance purple runners that have neon green soles and details which are super comfy and I absolutely love!

Green pencil skirt & black top- Sports girl
White top - Supre
Pink sandals & black sandals - Rubi Shoes
Revlon matte balms - Target

I've had a $50 gift voucher for Sportsgirl that has been burning a hole in purse for a while now, so I was happy to finally spend it on this absolutely gorgeous green tropical print midi skirt. I also picked up a couple basic tops, one from Sportsgirl, and a white one from Supre that has rather large slits up either side which reminded me of a tee from the brand Cheap Monday that's of a similar style. 

As summer has come to an end, Rubi shoes is having a great sale on all of their sandals, so naturally I made the most of it and purchased two really cute pairs at $15 each.

I also finally got my hands on a couple Revlon matte balms in 'audacious' and 'unapologetic', which you can expect a blog post about them in the near future!

Bags -  St Vinnies (Op shop)

I have been on the hunt for the perfect vintage op shop handbag, after seeing so many people who have been able to nab really cute and original bags from op shops. I scowered so many op shops and have been really unsuccessful, but the other day when I went into a St Vinnies with high hopes I finally struck gold! Both bags are in perfect condition, aside from the slight unpleasant whiff of mothballs, so if anyone know how to get rid of the smell of mothballs let me know! I bought the navy blue bag on the left for $7 and the smaller bag for $4, talk about bargain!!F

Beauty Haul | No. 1

A couple of  weeks ago I had a teeny splurge on beauty, and because Priceline was having a 40% sale on all cosmetics I just couldn't resist! I know it may not seem like I bought too many things, but this was all in a days work and I really should be saving, so yeah...naughty me!

 Essie is a brand that I would consider to be on the more pricier side of the spectrum of drugstore nail polishes, being priced at around $17 a pop, so I made the most of the 40% off deal and picked up three in the shades 'aruba blue' a metallic, mid toned blue, 'bikini so teeni' a powder blue with tinnnnny specks of glitter in it, and 'go ginza' which is a very pale lilac. 

I would highly recommend Essie polishes as they are very opaque and need just 2 coats to reach their full colour, and are very high quality, staying chip free for about 4-5 days without a topcoat. 

The only problem I have is that the brush is pretty small and doesn't cover much of the nail when applying. As a result it makes it a bit harder to apply and looks quite streaky when its first applied but it surprisingly dries completely smooth and seamless! 

SWATCHES...

(Left to Right) Go Ginza | Binkini so teeni | Aruba Blue 

Topshop 'Pillow Talk'  

I have read so many good things about Topshop makeup, so when I was in the Chapel st store I thought it was the perfect opportunity to pick up a couple things to try out for myself. I must say, so far I'm pretty impressed with the quality of this lipstick, it very pigmented and moisturising on the lips, however I found that if you have chapped lips it tends to sit in the cracks which is pretty annoying, but forgivable. Aside from that the colour is a gorgeous pale pink, but was a fair bit paler then what I expected when I first applied it to my lips! None the less it is still a pretty shade. The Topshop lipsticks are a reasonable $15, given their high quality and great colour pay off. Not to mention the undeniably cute packaging which I absolutely love!

Chi Chi 'Say My Name'
I'm still not too sure why I bought this lipstick. Was it because of how well other people can pull of ultra pale lilac lipstick? Or was it because it is called 'Say My Name' which reminds me of  a quote off Breaking Bad, a tv show that I love so dearly? Well I dunno, but it certainly isn't the shade that I would normally reach for! None the less I will try to find somewhere to wear it, even if it's just for a fancy dress party!
 The formula of this lipstick is very matte and doesn't seem to dry out the lips too much, but with most matte lipsticks I would recommend wearing a lip balm underneath to retain a bit of moisture. The smell of this lipstick is probably my favourite part! I don't really know how to describe it but it is so nice and almost smells like a fragrance that you actually want to wear! The packaging I find a bit tacky, but I'm not really too fussed by packaging anyway (apart from Topshop packaging of course) so I'll deal with it. I can't remember the exact price of this lipstick but I think it was around the $10 mark.

Revlon Kissable Balmstain in 'Honey'
Originally I was looking for the new Revlon matte balms after being convinced by many beauty bloggers that it was something that I desperately needed in my life, but after trying to find them at numerous stores, I soon realised that they were completely sold out! (To be honest I'm shocked that people are so on to it!) Instead I thought I would try out the original balm stains, opting for the colour 'honey', as it looked like a nice subtle pinky shade. And I must say, I am surprised by how much I love this! I was a bit sceptical as I don't usually like lip products to be too glossy but this has a kind of subtle sheen when first applied then dries to stain. It is perfect for everyday use and you don't have to worry about  it smudging everywhere when eating which is always good! I would defiantly recommend everyone try this! 

Chi Chi Matte Lipstick -Say My Name | Topshop lipstick - Pillow Talk | Revlon Just Bitten kissable Lipstain- Honey

Topshop Glow in 'Polished'

I have never actually owned  highlighter before, so this is pretty new to me. When browsing through the Topshop makeup I noticed how pretty their highlighters looked so I took it upon myself to give it go and try out the Topshop glow highlighter in 'polished'. I would describe this shade as quite pearlescent, being a shimmery white/silver with glimmers of pink running through. The Topshop highlighters are, I think, a bit on the pricey side being $18 each, and although they are brilliant quality, I still don't know whether it was really worth it. I apply the product to the tops of my cheek bones and the inner corners of my eyes, which gives a nice over all glow to the face. When applying, keep in mind that a little goes a long way as you really don't need much, so I can tell that this is going to last me ages, which is good news because it is a fairly small amount of product!

 SWATCHES...

(Left to right) Revlon Just Bitten kissable lipstain - Honey | Topshop lipstick -Pillow Talk | Chi Chi matte lipstick - Say My Name | Topshop Glow -Polished

NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in 'Blonde'

I have been using an eyebrow pencil by Rimmel in the shade 'Hazel', but I wanted to try something else as I find it has too much of an orangey tone to it. So I decided to try out NYX's Eyebrow Cake Powder in 'Blonde' after seeing a few good reviews. So far i'm really liking it! it includes two pressed powders in light brown shades that are supposedly suitable for blondes,but suites my mousey brown hair just fine, as well as a wax and a little spooly and angled eyebrow brush. I use the darker powder as I find the lighter powder is just too light so I tend not to use it at all, and begin by applying the powder with the angled brush in short stroking motions to fill in the brows. I then I apply the wax with the spooly, brushing through my brows to hold the shape in place, which I think also helps it look neater and darkens up the colour slightly. I think this eyebrow powder is so affordable being priced at around $10, so you don't have to break the bank to achieve great brows!

VAMFF | National Graduate Showcase 2014

Last Saturday Night I attended the National Graduate show, which was apart of the annual Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival. I must admit I was completely blown away by the incredible talent and innovation that the graduates showed! The Showcase was sponsored by Target, who will select one of the twelve graduate designers who had their collection displayed, and work with them to create a clothing range that will be sold in Target stores, as well as a $25,000 grant to kick start their design career. This is so exciting as some of the collections shown I absolutely loved and could totally see them be taken from the runway to the streets. 

The venue was held in the heart of the city at the stunning Central pier, Docklands. The event is also sponsored by L'Oreal pretty much every year and so they had a huge L'Oeal tent were you could get a complementary colour match and gift bag. However the line remained ridiculously long throughout the whole night and to be perfectly honest I don't have the patience for such things!!

Sitting at the catwalk, waiting for the show to begin!

Here are a few snaps I took of the models walking down the runway. I know they aren't the greatest photos ever but they were the best I could do given where I was sitting...

[From left to right]

Molly Younger - Her collection was inspired by sculpture and form  involving latex dresses and coats and gloves covered in cracked paint and included very structured and organic shapes . To describe Younger’s collection in one word it was very eerie.

Gabrielle Brown - This collection I loved! All of the pieces were white but Brown had played around with 3D printing to create different textures. She also used different types of materials such as mesh to add more dimension to her designs.

Yan Wang - Wang's collection was focused on menswear that was purely monochrome and included some pretty crazy shapes and collars! I loved the graphic prints which even involved optical illusions!

[From left to right]

Edwina Sinclair - The first two images are apart of Sinclair's collection which draw inspiration from emoticons and pop art. Sinclair presented a range strong in colour and texture, with knitted onesies and matching hats, colour blocking and an amazing ankle-length pastel pink coat which couldn't be more on trend at the moment.

Juliette Booth - Juliette Booth’s designs were created to be worn by men and women, by  removing the darts from her garments to create unisex pieces. The result is a really cool collection of oversized jumpers and hooded vests, in quilted, graphic fabrics, paired with baseball caps and tough, gold hardware. Now this collection was my favourite! It just oozed with edginess and was probably the one I could most see being integrated into everyday street style.

Wing Chiang - Wing Drew her inspiration from Japanese flowers, in turn creating an absolutely stunning collection of delicate designs. She used prints of different types of flowers on all of  her designs and incorporated lightweight mesh materials which added another interesting element to her work. Overall her collection was very pretty and colourful and reminded me of the springtime.

[From left to right]

Victoria Thaniotis - This collection focused on oversized, structured pieces, with bold shapes and colours. Victoria also included some texture in this collection such as embroidering and fabric manipulation.

Another one of Juliette Booth's cool designs.

An example of Edwina Sinclair's bold and wacky knitted pieces!!

Overall I had an amazing night, and totally recommend going if you love fashion as much as I do! This was the second year I have gone to see a fashion show and both times were such different experiences.  I came out feeling so inspired and just generally excited about the whole fashion world.  

OOTD...

Shirt - Glassons

Leather Shorts - Ebay

Blazer - Portmans

Necklaces - Thomas Saboo, Ebay

Shoes - Windsor Smith

Bag - Collette 

Watch - Fossil

Life Update No.1 | Trip to NZ

I know this post isn't necessarily beauty or fashion related, but I have decided to introduce some life updates to my blog  from time to time. I probably wont do too many posts like this, so don't worry if your not really interested in this type of thing, I will only  post one when I do something worth sharing or something big has happened in my life that I want to tell you guys about. 

Anyway  at the beginning of this year my family and I went on a road trip around New Zealand for two weeks! It was absolutely STUNNING and I highly recommend that everyone go at least once in their life. I must say I was pretty excited about going and heard that it was nice there, but it totally blew me away with its diverse and beautiful scenery. 

Here are just a few snaps I took while over there...

(Top row) A beautiful little garden area in Auckland CBD (how pretty are those fairy lights?!) |  Geyser erupting at Rotorua | Maori totem pole at Te Puia, Rotorua 

(Bottom row) Cute little Hobbit hole at Hobbiton | Me reppin' my NZ beanie, sipping a coffee on a cruise through Milford Sound | Standing on a glass window, looking down at the train station below! Felt soo weird! 

(Top row) Fox Glacier | Beautiful view in  Queenstown | Ship container shopping centre in Christchurch (Bottom row) Garden show in Christchurch | Our boat pulling up in Milford Sound | Icy cold lake at Queenstown 

Of course I couldn't take a holiday over to New Zealand and not turn into a complete tourist, buying the oh so kiwi beauty products! In New Zealand they seemed to be very big on manuka honey. It claimed to be good for your health and you could buy it with various UMF levels, which I still have no idea what that means or why its so good, but it sure does sound impressive! It is used in soo many products such as soaps, lip balms, scrubs, lotions and fragrances. I thought I would try out the manuka honey body lotion mainly because I forgot to bring moisturiser with me and my legs were lookin pretty scaly! The lotion has a very sweet honey fragrance that is very distinctive of the manuka honey scent. It's quite nice but its really strong and heavy which I don't particularly like as I prefer lighter and fresher scents for my lotions and moisturisers. The lotion itself is nothing too special but it gets the job done.

Rotorua is famous for its natural hot springs, mud pools and for the whiffy sulphuric gasses that rise up from the ground in patches of steam!  What's really cool is that you can use the Rotoura mud for cosmetic purposes. So naturally I took full advantage of this and bought some Rotorua mud with kiwi fruit (what else?) which makes for an excellent cleansing mask! I have used this a few times and apply a thin layer after I wash my face, leave it on for about 15 mins or until its completely dry then rise. After, my face feels so clean and smooth! 

I also bought a soap that has both the thermal mud and volcanic sulphur as I thought it would be the perfect reminder of Rotorua. It lathers up really well and very quickly which is good, and as far as it goes as a soap it does a good job at cleansing the skin and leaving that clean feeling. Unfortunately the smell is the big down fall of this soap. I don't really know what I was expecting, but it's a pretty unpleasant 'soapy' smell! However it doesn't leave much of a scent on the skin (thank god!), so I'll let that one slide because the novelty of it is just too cool!

Style Stalker | Ashley Olsen

In terms of fashion sense, the Olsen twins are immaculately on point. They have become two of the most famous fashion icons of the decade and rightfully so. For this particular instance I have focused on Ashley's personal day to day style. I have created three different looks inspired by outfits that Ashley has worn, to show how you too can replicate her impeccable style.   

LOOK ONE - BOHEMIAN CHIC

1. Loose fit jeans buy here

2. Structured bag buy here

3. Studded loafers buy here

4. Scarf buy here

5. Snake print top buy here 

6. Aviator sunglasses buy here 

LOOK TWO - GRUNGE

1. Black knit jumper buy here

2. Fur coat buy here

3. Bag buy here

4. Wrap skirt buy here

5. Geometric sunglasses buy here

6. Cut out boots buy here

LOOK THREE - MINIMALIST

1. Ripped skinny jeans buy here

2. Slip ons buy here

3. Bag buy here

4. Boxy coat buy here

5. Knit jumper buy here

6. Sunglasses buy here

How I Style | American Apparel Denim Skirt

I am absolutely loving my denim skirt from American Apparel. It's so versatile and has quickly become one of my favourite pieces in my wardrobe. Denim skirts is a trend that was very popular during the 90's and early 2000's but like many trends from that era, has come back into fashion. This AA high waist denim skirt is really good quality and fits so well, sucking me in at all the right places. The skirt costs $65 which I think is pretty fair considering how much I have worn it already!!

If you have a denim skirt and want some inspiration or are considering getting one but don't know how to wear it, here are a few ways I would typically style it.

CASUAL

Hat - Cotton On

Crop top - Jay Jays

Kimono - Cotton On

Skirt - American Apparel 

Necklace - Dotti

Watch - Fossil

Shoes - London Rebel

Due to the skirt being high waisted, it goes really well with crop tops as it highlights the waist which is generally the skinniest part of your body. Crop tops also add a more playful feel to your look which is perfect for making an outfit more fun.

 I love the look of oversized paired with tight as they complement each other so well. I put this into practice by paring my patterned kimono I got from Cotton on about two years back with my tight fitting skirt. Kimonos add an instant fashionable edge and turn a boring outfit into a interesting one. 

This fedora hat was an absolute steal, no really it only cost me $1! It pulls the look together so perfectly not to mention the added protection from the sunny rays of Australia which is a must!!

Finally the tassel necklace adds to the overall bohemian inspired look and the sandals keep it casual. 

WORK

Shirt - Glassons

Skirt - American Apparel 

Necklaces - Sportsgirl, Thomas Sabbo

Watch - Fossil

Shoes - ZU

For a smarter look I paired the skirt with this light weight white shirt. I love the v neck of the shirt which I think is very flattering and although it is a comfy relaxed fit when tucked in, it looks really smart. For a more professional look you could also add a blazer.

The jewellery I added is really delicate and simple to keep that clean minimalistic look. Layered necklaces are very much on trend so this really cool layered crystal necklace from Sportsgirl adds a trendy touch.

These shoes are another bargain buy, I bought them for $20 reduced from $110 at a ZU shoes outlet which is awesome and they are really good quality too being leather. These loafer style shoes are great for a work environment as they are really structured and smart yet the small studs create a subtle but edgy feel.

NIGHT OUT

Singlet - Bardot

Skirt - American Apparel 

Necklace - Sportsgirl

Watch - Fossil

Shoes - Novo

To style this skirt for a night out or party setting I teamed it with a cami style singlet form Bardot which instantly makes the outfit more dressy. To take the dressy look even further I added some strappy heels. I have seen this style of heels a lot recently and surprisingly they actually pretty comfy. I usually have hard time  trying to find heels that my feet slip comfortably into as i have fairly wide feet, but because they are open heels  they are much more comfortable. 

The chunky collar necklace from Sportsgirl is a great statement piece and works well to clash with the overall simplistic look.

Because the outfit is overall pretty monochrome, the bright purple lipstick adds a great pop of colour and a playful feel.

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