Weekend Post: Read, Eat, Listen, Do

I've been thinking about making a little series like this for a while - something I can use to keep you guys up to date with the non-beauty related stuff I'm into as well. I'll probably do it during weekend where I don't have anything outstandingly exciting to show you and maybe the odd one during the week (amongst beauty posts...).

Anyway, lets carry on!

READ. Jack Reacher - mum lent me this because I hadn't read any of the series and am one of those people who re-read the same series over and over. I've got about a hundred pages in so far and am really enjoying it - it's nice to read something a bit more real-life and gritty.

EAT. I have been eating one metric tonne of avocados weekly seeing as they're so cheap - 4 for 3 dollars at the supermarket don't mind if I do. I love having them on toast every morning with some Marmite and chilli jam. Delicious. I've had it for lunch as well as breakfast today too. Oops. As well as this I've been taking lozenge pro-biotics especially for throat/respiratory immunity as there's a lot of bugs going around at this time of year and I really can't afford to get sick. So far I've managed to stave off the bug that's hit a few people in the office.

LISTEN. Now that I have finally managed to get music sorted on my phone (man I just love this phone) I've added a whole lot of new stuff. At the moment I'm listening to Flawless on repeat (I'm late to the party I know - bear with me). The sound quality on my S4 is amazing - totally obsessed.

DO. Planning some very exciting things for next year which I will talk about closer to the time. In terms of a more superficial level I've been painting my nails orange for summer - I can't get enough of this colour (Hot and Spicy by OPI - was mentioned on a monthly favourite post here). As well as that I've been fake tanning - my legs are about ready to be exposed to the oncoming Kiwi summer. My hands below are a typical example of how bad I am at tanning fingers. Don't you just love my new Meadowlark ring though? I bought it for myself as an early Christmas present for one year at my first full time job. Very surreal how different everything is now compared to a year ago.

Hope this new series is of some interest - should be more exciting than describing my quiet weekend in the least! Back on Wednesday as per usual for a new beauty post. Until then.

Claire x

Monthly Favourites: November 2014

Ahh, monthly favourites time again. I do love a good product round-up. There's a few new bits and bobs here and a few pieces I've had for a while and have started really reaching for again. A lot of them are complimentary products that I use in conjunction with each other. Right, on with it then.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette.
To say this palette is absolutely stunning would be an understatement. I think I'll do a more in depth review of this one with swatches and photos of it on because you really need to see it and try it to do it justice. Inside are three finishing powders of different shades - together you can pretty much finish your makeup, add dimension and blur imperfections in one. It sets your makeup and is great for oily skinned folk as it gives you that glow without making you oily and without the need for cream products.

Hourglass Femme Nude No.4
I'd been keen to try these for a wee while - I'm a sucker for a good nude and when I found out this brand was also cruelty free I thought "Well no reason not to try them now!". I use this in combination with my next favourite - the MAC lipliner pencil in Subculture. It's a beautiful finish for a lipstick, satin, very opaque and very long-lasting too. They are a little on the pricey side but for the amount of product you get in the tube and how long it lasts on the lips they're wonderful. I'd compare them to the NARS lip pencils except the plus on these is they don't need sharpening which means no product goes to waste. The packing is so luxurious and application is wonderfully easy too.

MAC Lip-liner in Subculture.
As mentioned this one goes superbly with the Hourglass lipstick - particularly if you're into that Kylie Jenner lip which is so on trend at the moment. It's a lovely pinky-brown shade but is still light enough to look natural and flattering on pale skin too (which suits me...).

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla.
Usually I avoid anything with a pink tone in it like the plague because my skin is actually very yellow toned. However, for the blue toned under-eye circles I seem so prone to of late this one is a lifesaver. It brightens (because it's the lightest of the concealers), is quite hydrating, doesn't crease and gives you a lovely highlighted look under your eyes. I use this every morning after applying my tinted moisturiser and set it with the lightest shade from the Hourglass palette. Can't get enough of this combination.

xoBeauty Pretty Ties.
I've mentioned these before I few months ago in a favourites video but again, this month I've bought more and have been using them religiously. They're so gentle on hair and better yet - they actually hold my bun together. Typically with fine hair I find it falls out too easily with conventional round/thin hair ties but this shape and size holds that messy and effortless bun in place all day at work. Super impressed.

Sympathy for the Skin. 
Over the last few weeks I'm beginning to see I have a problem with body lotions. I have about five in my present collection - dry skin problems I guess? Anyway, I picked this one up in a bit of a weekend haul (one of the numerous recent trips to Lush...). It's one I hadn't purchased in a while but now I've got it I can't imagine why I went without it - it's the perfect lotion for summer. Very hydrating, tropical banana and vanilla fragrance and beautiful post shower/before bed when you can really let it sink in.

Quite relieved this month is over - the last of 2014 is on its way eeek. Next month there will be Christmas posts a-plenty so keep an eye out for those too!

Claire x

About: Oil Pulling

I mentioned a few products I particularly love with coconut recently in this post, I thought coconut oil in particular deserved a little more focus and much like the oil itself, oil pulling is becoming quite a "thing." I recently started doing it a few months ago and thought I'd shed some light on the method and benefits behind it.

What is oil pulling? 
Oil pulling is essentially a similar concept to using mouth wash. The main exception being you substitute mouth wash for coconut oil and you're swishing it around for longer than you would with mouth wash too.

How do you do it? 
It's a little unpleasant the first time you do it, and using a mild flavoured oil will definitely help - coconut is great because it tastes mild and is naturally slightly anti-bacterial. I take a teaspoon sized amount (shown above) and you chew it up until it's a liquid. If you're in a very hot climate your oil may already be in its liquid state. Once you're chewing it up and gently swishing it around (you don't need to do it quite as vigorously as you would with Listerine...) check the time - you ideally want to be oil pulling for 10 - 20 minutes. I do this process every third day usually - I like to clean my teeth first, floss and then oil pull. I feel like the oil gets to do the best job and have greater access to your teeth when they're already clean. Afterwards, brush again to get any excess oil off your teeth.

A few things to note - don't spit the oil down the drain, once it cools again it'll solidify can block the drain. Either spit it into the garden or a paper towel and bin it. Also, don't swallow the oil - by the time it's been doing its thing for 20 minutes there's a lot of gunk in there you don't want in your stomach.

What are the benefits? 
The benefits are numerous - for a start it helps remove bacteria in your mouth. You know when you cook with oil and the oil absorbs the colour/essence of whatever you're cooking in it? It's the same when you oil pull - the coconut will absorb toxins and bacteria in your mouth (which, as mentioned above is why you shouldn't swallow it!). This results in a cleaner feeling mouth and fresher breath - I never have a dry feeling mouth in the mornings when I do this regularly and my teeth keep that "smooth" feel post-brush for longer. You'll notice the colour of the oil has changed when you spit it out - quite revolting but you can see it's working.
Another huge benefit is it very gently whitens your teeth - because it removes surface stains (like coffee and red wine...). It won't whiten them drastically like bleaching would but this is a good option for those of you with sensitive teeth, thin enamel or don't want to splash out on an expensive treatment. I've found my teeth feel less sensitive too and my gums feel a lot healthier and less sensitive too.

Do you oil pull? Is it something you'd try?

Claire x

The PPL Shall Return on Wednesday

To any of you regular readers waiting for a weekend post unfortunately I don't have one this week. I've had a bit of a tough one and need some time with my best friend eating ice cream. I'm scheduling my usual beauty posts to go ahead on Wednesday and Friday as per usual but I just needed a weekend off.

See you all next weekend.

Claire x

Office Beauty

Post-work drinks or just going out with your mates after uni/school can warrant a bit of a change. Aside from that I think having a few solid and reliable bits in your bag to keep you feeling lovely are always handy. I compiled a little list of things I find indispensable throughout work/post work dos.

The first, of course, is a hand cream. The Burts Bees Banana and Beeswax hand cream is the best I've found - I've done a more in depth bit on it here. Washing your hands a lot seems to be a thing that just happens - applying this afterwards keeps them tidy looking and feeling nice.

Second is a little mirror - I've had this one forever and it slips nicely into my handbag and is very discreet for checking lipstick or your teeth post lunch (hah!). You can get these pretty cheaply and they're well worth having.

Next is a few lip products - a balm is a must if you have dry lips - or just lips full stop really. Being in an air conditioned environment can make your skin dry as is, but your lips are even more delicate and don't have oil glands which means they can't keep themselves hydrated. Something like Burts Bees lip balm or my current favourite - the Hurraw! Coconut lip balm is beautiful.

Following this, if you're heading out later or need to "dress" your look up a bit a lip pencil like the Nars lip pencils or something similar are great. Moisturising, add a bit of colour and most importantly are easy to applyand if you do mess it up, easy to fix as well.

Finally - the old staple, a nail file. Having snaggy nails does my head in - if I have even a small chip I have to smooth it out. One of these duo-nail files (is duo-nail file even a thing? I just made that up) with two grains means you can really buff them into shape or just smooth an edge where be.

Anything you always have handy at work?

Claire x

Top 3: Hand and Nail Care

Lately my hands and nails have fallen into ill repair - meaning I've had to bust out the heavy duty products. I thought I'd share, anyone with brittle or easily chipped nails and dry hands will benefit from these three wonderful pocket sized products.

One. Start to Finish Top and Base Coat, OPI.
I've used this one for years and it's great in my books partly because it kills two birds with one stone. Rather than having two products you can use this for creating a smooth canvas to put colour on over the top and helping prevent chips. It really helps maintains the condition of your nails as well - I don't get that peeling or cracking on the top layers of my nails (unless I pick at it when it chips...). A tad on the pricey side but if you paint your nails a lot this will be well worth the investment - I get through a bottle in a little under a year and that's with painting my nails every week too.

Two. CND Solar Cuticle Oil.
A recent addition to my collection but this is a super nail saver - particularly if you're into getting gel or Shellac nails. It helps the nail to grow out strong while it's still forming. Applying this every day makes my cuticles less cracked and dry and my nails a lot shinier and healthy feeling too. Aside from that it smells like marzipan - which might allude to the almond oil that's a main ingredient (along with jojoba). This wee bottle is pretty generous and will last quite a while - for 20NZD it's actually pretty cost effective too. 

Three. Burts Bees Banana and Beeswax hand cream.
I've mentioned this one in my recently rediscovered products post here. It's the only cream I've ever found that really combats that painful dry skin that can arise from dermatitis and really lasts on the skin too. It smells beautiful, sinks in and really helps repair your hands. I love applying this one after I've washed my hands - I find that's the best time to apply because the warm water softens your skin and allows it to absorb more easily and skin is more delicate when it's been in water (particularly if you have dermatitis/eczema). 

Having soft and well tended to hands always look lovely and prepare your nails for polish - something that always makes me feel more put together. 

Claire x

Weekend Post: Back to the City

After a week trying to fit 46 hours of work into a 40 hour week I was more relieved than usual to get to the weekend. I've not been into the city in several weeks and as mum is going overseas for work soon we thought we'd have a day out. As usual we went to Newmarket which is one of my favourite places in Auckland to shop and have lunch. I had a wee Lush list as a few of my favourite things were getting a bit low, unfortunately my shampoo was only available in the baby or humongous bottles so I guess I have an excuse to go back soon? Anyway, I got one of my favourite body lotions and must have cream cleanser as I'm getting a bit low. Picked up the new Lush Times (or Fresh Matters as it's called now) and got the Christmas gift guide in the post. 

After fake tanning like a tanorexic I needed a new tinted moisturiser or foundation - I picked up my much loved Nars Radiant Tinted Moisturiser in Alaska, it suits perfectly and is lovely and yellow so I don't look like I have a yellow body and weirdly pink face hah. I'd been meaning to try the Hourglass Nude Femme lipsticks for a while and I settled on No.4 - my word these are bloody gorgeous. From the packaging and the beautiful satin finish I will definitely be trying a few other shades in this range. I was a bit cheeky and tried the Ambient Lighting palette as well - there were only two left and the price has dropped significantly so I was like hell TREAT YO SELF and bought one. It's the loveliest range of powders - I can say this, tinted moisturiser and something on your brows and lashes gives the most amazing "no makeup"makeup look. I'll definitely need to do a more detailed post on these later. Also bought a pair of draped cargo/harem pants which I have been dreaming of for a while and happened to trip over in Country Road, conveniently they were even 25% off. I'll feature them soon in an outfit post!

Lunch was at my usual tapas bar - I got the tapas platter with slow cooked green beans, chorizo sausage on Spanish baked beans with tomato bread, olives and hummus on the side. I'm hungry just thinking about it. This place is consistently perfect and the service is always excellent.

Finally the piece I was really planning on getting yesterday - I was actually assuming I'd need to order it as my fingers are tiny and each time I've been the jeweler hasn't had the stone/metal combo I've been after. This ring was obviously meant to find its way to my finger - it fits perfectly and is the silver/amethyst combination I was after. It's my treat to myself after a year of finishing university/being at my current job. It was too expensive a piece for me to feel comfortable to ask for for Christmas so I bought it for myself - I've had my eye on this since April. 

Today I'm doing the usual frantic photo taking, drafting, editing and the such. My access to a laptop at home is about to disappear so I'm trying to get extra ahead now...!

Claire x