Day 31 - Halloween

Happy Halloween!! One of my favourite holidays! Unfortunately with my glorious stomach bug still sitting with me, I was unable to get involved this year :( So here is my Corpse Bride that I dressed as for a 21st this year.

Until we meet again :)

LL

Day 30 - October Favourites

This is a post I wanted to go more in depth with, so my October Favs will be up in the new week!

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 29 - Mirror Image

When Sabian was a little weenie kitty, he used to love to sit on my shoulder while a did my make up :) 



Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 28 - Recreate A Face Chart

So if you follow me on Twitter or Instgram, you would know that this past weekend I was man down with a stomach bug. I was hoping it would be one of those 24 hour guys, but unfortunately I was only on half battery power by Wednesday. 

I desperately wanted to get involved and recreate this face chart today, but lifting my head from my pillow proved to be an impossible task, so hopefully next year I can get around to doing this :)

(I do not own this image. Image found on Google)

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 27 - Lipstick Collection

I may have mentioned this before, but I don't have the most extensive of lipstick collections. I was born with lips that enjoy flaking and peeling whenever I use some kind of product on them. Frankly, it sucks, I would love to wear all the awesome shades that are coming out, but on a daily basis it's not really pracitcal for me.

I do however have a few lipsticks that I use and love dearly, so let me introduce you to them...

1st up: Gosh - Long Lasting Lip Marker in 001 Red

2nd up: Revlon - Just Bitten Kissable in 015 Cherish Devotion

3rd up: Revlon - Colourburst Lip Butter in 047 Pink Lemonade

4th in line: Revlon - Colourburst Lipstick in 070 Soft Nude

Lastly: Rimmel - Lasting Finish Lipstick in 006 Pink Blush

As you can see, nudes are a huge favourite and so is Revlon :) 

If you would like to see swatches of these bad boys, let me know in the comments and I will be more than happy to put up a post, of find me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram :)

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 26 - Beauty Related Quote

Have a beautiful Sunday

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 25 - Green

Perfume, for me, this is as personal as how you like your coffee in the morning. It can make our break your day, it can put a smile on your face or make you don a frown. It's your message to the world saying "This is what I want to smell like, not what I actually smell like, what I wish I smelt like". So for me it's one perfume and one perfume only. Don't get me wrong, I wear scented body butters, lotions, deodorants etc, but when I'm feeling fancy, I have one little bottle that I turn to...

I love the clean fresh smell that this perfume delivers, and it's no suprise with features green notes, violet leaf, apple, grapefruit and magnolia. The heart brings tuberose, lily of the valley, rose and violet, while the base – sandalwood, amber and musk. 

So the next time you spot this little wonder across a crowded shopping mall, give it a little sniff and let the stunning smell guide you to a happier place :)

I'd love to hear what you think of DKNY Be Delicious Green Apple, so leave a comment, Facebook me your thoughts or tweet me your opinion!

Until tomorrow....

LL

Day 24 - Drugstore Product

It's probably no suprise to you that when this topic came up I reached straight for one of my Essence favourites.

I absolutely love this brozer, it's perfect for us pale ladies. The scent reminds me so much of a summers afternoon spent in front of the pool, a fresh coconut smell drifting past as you sweep it across your face! What more could you want?

This is definately a product I would recommend to any golden goddess on a budget :)

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 23 - Follow A Tutorial

I am a YouTube junkie, I spend a good bazillion hours on YouTube weekly watching people's lives, tutorials and the "what am I doing here" side of YouTube. 

For this challange I decided to watch the lovely Luzanne from Pink Peonies Blog. She knows how to create a stunningly beautiful mani, and in this tutorial she shows you how you can do the same :)

Head over to her YouTube channel to see what it's all about :)

How To: Nail Polish Clean Up For The Perfect Manicure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81D0fcpW-2k&list=UUaP6sPAXxaX7V3p75OTNayA

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 22 - Eyeliner

Eyeliner...the best friend to some...worst enemies to others. 15 year old Natalie had a love hate relationship with eyeliner, I love it, it hated me. Raccoon eyes was a regular look of mine and back in 2004 I couldn't have cared less if I looked ridiculous or not, I thought I was cool. Boy was I wrong!

Since then my eyeliner game has somewhat improved. Through trial and error I have found a few gems that work and a few duds that don't. My ex-boyfriend could probably also put his two cents into this post come to think of it ;) 

One of my current favourites, if you haven't been able to tell from previous posts, is the Maybelline Colassal Kajal in Black. I like an eyeliner that can stand the daily wear and tear of my blinking little peepers, I mean who doesn't? This eyeliner does what it says, and I like that in a product. 

Just because I love this little liner so much, I have posted a picture for you of this mornings application

And below is after 10  hours, no touch ups, no photoshop, just plain glorious liner :)

If that wasn't enough to convince you, I'm pretty sure the price will. Retailing at a measly

R 44.95 from dischem, do you really have an excuse not to try it?

Until tomorrow....

LL

Day 21 - Trying For The First Time

This month I have had quite a few new products that I have been trying for the first time, this one is one I wanted to feature front and center. Reason being is that I have never actually bothered to try a primer, yes I know, shock and horror! So when I bought this little guy I was very eager to see how it pans out. Let me introduce to you Catrice Cosmetic's Prime and Fine Pore Refining Anti-Shine Base.

Catrice Prime and Fine - Pore Refining Anti-Shine Base

As a primer noob, I can only give you my opinion on how it changed the game of my daily makeup wear. To say I am impressed would be an understatement. I spend the majority of my day either behind my desk or in my car, my afternoons are spent mainly in the car. I don't enjoy wearing heavy makeup daily, a BB cream, some powder, mascara and eyeliner and I'm good. Usually by the end of the day my make up has flown off my face along with my patience for Joburg traffic. But by the time I had gotten home this evening (8pm) my "face" was still intact, which was pretty awesome if I do say so myself. 

Now onto the pore refining part, if they would allow me to, I could probably house kittens in each of my pores and keep them safe during the cold seasons. In other words my pores are HUGE! With this little guy I noticed a slight reduction in visibility. 

My most favourite part of this experience was the mattifying anti-shine sourcery that was happening on my face. With my large pores comes oily skin, so by the end of a long day I'm like a regular oil slick, come to think of it my makeup probably tries to hold on for dear life but doesn't really stand a chance. So I was overjoyed when my oily shiney face was put on hold for the day.

At only R69, this is definitely something I will purchase more often (sorry kittens)

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 20 - Somewhere You Went

Back in 2010 I took my first trip to the beautiful town that is Knysna in the Western Cape. I don't think I have ever felt more at home or more relaxed than I did in Knysna. I plan to do a more indepth post rambling on about my love for this beautiful location, but for now, I will leave you with this pretty picture from the docks :)

Until tomorrow....

LL

Day 19 - Plum

A million trillion years ago I fell in love with the colour purple, I loved every shade and wanted to have it around me all the time. Although I grew out of that phase, I do love a smokey plum eye.

I purchased the Avon True Colour Duo in Retro Glam over a year ago and have loved incorporating these plummy hues into my smokey eye routine. 

Avon True Colour Duo - Retro Glamour

Avon True Colour - Retro Glamour (Swatch)

The lighter lavender colour is perfect for highlighting, although my paleness doesn't exactly help is illustrating that right now.

I had a look online to see if this duo is still available. Currently it's not in the current South African catalogue, however it is available in the online US store (I have placed a link below).

If you have any perfect plum shadows that you would like to recommend, feel free to leave a comment and let me know, I'd like to try them out :)

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 18 - Lashes

Lately I have been having an epic battle with my lashes. I purchased a rather disappointing mascara a month back that damaged my eyelashes like you cannot believe. Instead of me battling to take a picture of my currenly recovering lovelies, I posted a picture of a set of reasonably priced falsies I wore to a party a while back...

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 17 - Sparkles

For today's challenge I wanted to make sure that I could post something other than jewelery or makeup, not that I don't love either of those two things, I just wanted to post something different. So I spent most of the day wondering just what I could post, and then I saw this little gem on my dressing table...

I got this vintage perfum bottle about 4 years back. I don't remember when or where I found it, but I remember loving it. The way the sun catches it at different points throughout the day makes it change colours. It reminds me of something from a Disney movie, and who doesn't love Disney ;)

So I thought I would just share this little gem for you to see :)

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 16 - Throw Back Thursday

Throw back Thursday, I've never actually taken the time to scrounge through my old photo's and upload a picture from my past, until this challenge came along :) 

So there you have it, 7 year old Natalie in her little ballet suit :)

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 15 - Recent Purchase

Recently I have spent an obscene amount of time in Dischem. I don't know what it is, but I find myself wondering around just looking at all the new awesome cosmetics that have come out. I then throw a few things in the basket here and there and by the end of it all I'm wondering how on earth I'm going to make rent next month...but that's future Natalie's problem ;)

Present Natalie would like to show you one of the awesome eyeshadow pallettes she purchased during one of her ridiculous adventures. I'll stop writing in third person now ;) I stumbled across this stunner of a pallette from Catrice's latest Absolute line and realised that I needed to have it. I don't know what it is about nudes that just make me feel polished and put together. There are so many different looks you can make from these 6 little colours, that to not purchase it would be a crime. 

I did a little swatchy swatcheroo on my arm so you can see the colour pay off. I swatched the lightest shade on the right over my tattoo as I have the same skin tone as a corpse and I couldn't give a better look any other way :)

As you can see the darker shades are highly pigmented and the lighter shades would be best for some subtle highlight. Once I've had a chance to spend some alone time with the bad boy, I will be posting a few tutorials on the various different looks I create with this one pallette.

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 14 - Something Funny

I thought this bear pretty much summed up all the lovely ladies in my life :)

Until tomorrow...

Every Day Make Up! Day 13 - Face Of The Day

For today's pic we needed to post a picture of what makeup look we were wearing today. This is my everyday make-up look so I thought I would add a little detail to this post to show you what I use.

1. Essence Sun Club Bronzer - Light

2. Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set

3. Palladio Rice Powder - Natural

4. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable - Cherish

5. Essence Match To Cover! Cream Concealer 

6. Catrice Cosmetics Better Than False Lashes - Ultra Black

7. Catrice Cosmetics - Allround Concealer

8. Palladio Herbal Concealer Stick - Green

9. Garnier BB Cream - Light

10 . Essence Pigment - 15 Pure Love

11. Maybelline The Colossal Kajal - Black

12. Essence Gel and Brow Mascara

If you would like me to do a tutorial, let me know and I will slot one in the pipeline :)

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 12 - Relaxing

Sundays...the last day of freedom before the hectic pace of the new week begins. I love afternoon naps on a Sunday, big breakfasts and getting ready for the new week. One of my ways of getting prepared is a DIY mani, it helps me relax and feel prepared for what's to come.

So it only seemed fitting that this was my image for "Relaxing"

Until tomorrow...

LL

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yoghurt Lollies (Day 11 - For A Change)

​Today's image topic is "For a Change" so I thought I would post a recipe for a change :)

With summer just around the corner here in South Africa, I thought I would share one of my favourite summer treats. These are so unbelievably simple to make and the combinations are endless. Today I'll show you how I make my Strawberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yoghurt Lollies. I made 4 different variations using the following ingredients:

Recipe:

Strawberry Drinking Yoghurt

Chocolate Chip Drinking Yoghurt

Fresh Strawberries

Ice Lolly Holders

The great thing about this recipe is how simple it is to make.

Step 1:

• Pour the chocolate chip drinking yoghurt half way into the ice lolly holder.
• Pop them into the freezer for an hour. Pre-freezing the chocolate chip drinking yoghurt first is to make sure that the strawberry drinking yoghurt won't mix with the chocolate chip drinking yoghurt when it is poured in later.

Step 2:

• Fill the ice lolly holder the rest of the way with the strawberry drinking yoghurt
• Pop them into the freezer until they have set, about 4 hours (depending on your freezer temperature)

Step 3:

Serve and enjoy :)

Strawberry and Chocolate Chip Frozen Yoghurt Lolly

Strawberry & Chocolate Chip Frozen Yoghurt Lolly with Fresh Strawberries

Strawberry & Chocolate Chip Frozen Yoghurt Lolly with Fresh Strawberries

Step 1:

• Pour the chocolate chip drinking yoghurt half way into the ice lolly holder.
• Pop them into the freezer for an hour.

Step 2:

• Place a few pieces of freshly cut strawberries on top of the pre-frozen yoghurt
• Fill the ice lolly holder the rest of the way with the strawberry drinking yoghurt
• Pop them into the freezer until they have set about 4 hours (depending on your freezer temperature)

Step 3:

Serve and enjoy :)

Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt Lolly With Fresh

Strawberry Bits

Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt Lolly with Fresh Strawberries

Step 1:

• Pour strawberry drinking yoghurt into ice lolly holder, make sure to leave enough room for a few strawberry bits
• Mix in a few strawberry bits
• Place in freezer for about 4 hours (depending on your freezing temperature)

Step 2:

Serve and enjoy :)

Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt Lolly

Step 1:

• Pour strawberry drinking yoghurt into ice lolly holder
• Place in freezer for about 4 hours (depending on your freezing temperature)

Step 2:

Serve and enjoy :)

As you can see these are so simple to make and you have unlimited choices of what you can do! 

If you make these little treats, I'd love to see them, so tag me in your pics online so we can enjoy together!

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 10 - Red

Red...one of my least favourite colours. I'm not sure what it is about red, I'm just not that fond of it, it hasn't done anything to me personally to make me dislike it, I just don't like it. Well, unless it comes in the form of Christmas, but the other 10 months of the year (yes, I'm one of those that like to make Christmas last as long as possible) I would rather not have it feature in my day to day life. 

I knew this day was coming and to be honest I wasn't 100% certain what I was going to do, red nails seemed like a good idea. Then along came a YouTube video to change my Thursday evening. I like to wind down from a long day by watching vlogs (nosey gene strikes again), one of my favourites is Zoe Sugg (Zoella and Morezoella). Zoe is my age and we have quite a few things in common, I'm sure a million people can say that, one of which is anxiety and panic attacks. One of the things I love most about Zoe is her openness about her struggles with anxiety and panic attacks, and last night she introduced us to a new campaign that she is running with the mental health charity Mind. The campaign is known as the "Dont Panic Button". The basics of the campaign is that you wear a red button on your person in solidarity with people who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. If you suffer from anxiety / panic attacks you will know just how isolated you can feel at times, by wearing a red button on your person, it gives you an opportunity to open yourself up to either helping someone who has anxiety or to show people that you may need help at certain times. If you would like to know more I'll leave a link to her video below as well as a more indepth article.

I decided that I would open up and tell a small part of my anxiety journey as today is World Mental Health day. I remember the first time I had an anxiety attack, it was three days after I had been mugged by 5 men outside a friends house. The mugging was brutal to say the least and while it was happening I just kept looking at the other people in the road who were just ignoring what was happening, I remember feeling completely alone. Fast forward three days and I found myself sitting in my shoe cupboard, my chest felt like it was caving in, my throat closed and I couldn't get a grip on myself. I hated it, I felt out of control, scared and like I was about the explode. I couldn't explain to my boyfriend what was happening, he had no idea how to help me, it was a complete and utter mess. I went to the doctor and he diagnosed me with an anxiety disorder, I thought to myself "This can't be that bad" and at the time you don't realise just how badly it can affect your life. I started seeing my friends less and less, I never wanted to go out, not because I didn't want to see my friends, but this overwhelming feeling of panic would just sit with me, and so I decided to rather just stay at home. The attacks come out of no where, in some situations I can keep myself calm and am able to handle myself, in others, not so much. There are a few people in my life who can tell when an attack is about to happen and how to keep me in the moment when it does, I am grateful for these people, because to have an attack infront of a bunch of people who have no idea what is happening, really sucks. I don't like to show vulnerability to people, so when I feel like I am about to have an anxiety attack, the fear of vulnerability coupled with my anxiety just makes things worse. I feel the "Dont Panic Button" campaign is awesome in this way, it brings to light the struggle that most people face silently. This is what I decided to do with my red button...

I feel that at a later stage I will go into more depth about exactly what I go through with my anxiety, baby steps for me :) 

I hope that by writing about this that maybe I can spread a little comfort with any of you who may be suffering with the same thing.

Until tomorrow...

LL

Link to look at :http://ht.ly/2ORQNe

Day 9 - Copycat

Today's post for me was a lame one on my behalf. I deperately wanted to recreate a look from Demi Lovato but I woke up on Thursday morning feeling beyond tired (hence why this post is going up a day late..grrr). I cannot stand it when I feel tired, I don't get much sleep so I'm used to functioning on a few hours of z's, but it was one of those days when your entire body is tired and you just can't be bothered to do anything. So I after a long day of clients and teaching, I settled (another hate of mine) for a pic of my favourite cat's, Hewy, Dewy and Louis :)

(Hewy, Dewy and Louis)

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 8 - A Favourite Brand

It's no secret that I love all things nails. If I would build a house made of nail polish I would be a very happy girl. So my favourite brand pick is no other than Essie. Love their colours, love the application, love the wear, love every little thing!

I hope you enjoy my leaning towe of Essie :)

Until tomorrow....

LL

Day 7 - Black

This image was one that I was so looking forward to doing. Black plays a HUGE part in my life. I am one of those people that decided a long ago that dressing in colour just wasn't for me. So I have modeled my wardrobe around all things black, occasionally I'll throw in some colour here and there. Obviously my hair is black and my car also happens to be black. I wanted a black cat, but my little fur baby stole my heart before his brother could, but he is half black! As you can see, it's a slight obsession.

So I thought I would share with you a few of my favourite black treasures :)

(Top: Black eyeliner, black polka dot bow earrings, Little Black Dress jewelery organizer, chalkboard heart, tea lanters, Essence colour & go, and a black strawberry necklace)

Tomorrow I will be posting about one of my favourite brands.

Until then...

LL

Day 6 - On My Bedside Table

Another one of these nosey posts that allow me to see into the lives of others, hee hee :) Here is a pic of what my beside table looks like, nothing too fantastic.

I am a huge believer in flowers, fresh is better, but I found these awesome material flowers at Mr Price Home. They brighten up the room and it's always good to wake up to something pretty in the morning. I have a little sign that my boyfriend bought me for my 22nd birthday, it says "A Princess Sleeps Here, Do Not Disturb", I love it!

I have a little eye mask that I got from Typo, and of course a Yankee Candle in the scent "Fluffy Towels". The beaded candle holder actually holds my mini humidifier, as I've mentioned before, I am allergic to basically everything imaginable and this little guy helps me breathe at night.

Lastly in my little woven basket I have my night time essentials, I will be doing a blog post later in the month to give you a run down of what I do nightly to keep my skin happy.

Until tomorrow...

LL

Day 5 - In My Makeup Bag

So when I saw that this was one of the themes for the Super Gorgeous Blog challenge, I got really excited! Not because I wanted to show what was in my makeup bag, but because I wanted to see what was in everyone elses! I love seeing what other people use, how they use it, which products others would recommend and all that other lovely stuff. I love getting a sneak peek into other people's lives, im nosy like that. So if you are anything like me, I hope my post helps satisfy that need to you :)

The contents of my makeup bag

First up, I have a pack of tissues that I purchased from Typo. These are awesome as the proceeds go to the Cotton On Foundation to empower youth. I love the packaging and keep them handy incase of a makeup emergency.

Next we have Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable. I absolutely love this chubby lipbalm stain. It's perfect for all day wear and has easy touch up application. I have 015 Cherish Devotion.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable - 015 Cherish Devotion

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable - 015 Cherish Devotion

A little swatch of the colour for you.

Next to that is my all-time-favourite-go-to-lippy LipIce in Cooling Mint. I am a huge fan of the LipIce brand as I struggle to wear any lip products that aren't petrolium jelly based. For some strange reason products not containing petrolium jelly make my lips peel. So this little guy is a definate must have for me.

LipIce - Cooling Mint

As you can tell, Essence is quite a favourite for me. I absolutely adore their products, and the fact that they are so affordable is an added bonus. First up on the Essence train is the Essence Lash and Brow Gel Mascara. I have ridiculously rebelious eyebrows and this gel mascara is a must to keep them in line throughout the day. I also tint my own eyelashes, so I don't feel the need wear mascara every day. I run the gel mascara through my lashes just after curling them for a little added moisture and to hold the curl throughout the day.

Essence Brow and Eyelash Gel Mascara

As the day progresses our makeup tends to decide it's time for it to stop doing it's job and go on hoiday. Now this is when a tiny concealer comes in handy, and once again, Essence is here to save the day. This little cream concealer pot has saved my life on more than one occasion, and with two different shades, it packs a powerful punch. If you are looking for a concealer sidekick, I would definately recommend Essence Match 2 Cover!

Essence - Match 2 Cover! Cream Concealer

Essence - Match To Cover! Cream Concealer

Lastly on the Essence train is the Essence - Sun Club Oil Control Paper, these little gifts from the makeup gods have come in handy on many a hot day. I have been cursed with combination oily skin, so my cheeks are fine, my eyelids superb, but the rest of my face is like an oil slick of note. These are perfect for a quick touch up on the road, you whip one out, dab it over the oily patches and you are good to go!

Essence - Sun Club Oil Control Paper

Essence - Sun Club Oil Control Paper

For as long as I can remember I have wanted fuller lips, but I'm too chicken to even contemplate injecting something into my lips. So I have tried every lip plumper product on the market and this is up there an my awesome list. It's the Dirty Works - Rumpy Plumpy Lip Plumper (how cute is that name). Not only does it give you a little fullness once applied but it has an awesome chocolate orange smell, I did a taste test, let's just say I won't recommend eating it. I love to put this on underneath whatever lip colour I am wearing that day.

Dirty Works - Rumpy Plumpy Lip Plumper

Dirty Works - Rumpy Plumpy Lip Plumper

Eyes are the windows to the soul, so it's only fitting that they are lined with an epic eyeliner. I found this bad boy on sale at Dischem a few weeks back. I am currently in the process of still testing it out, I will have a longer blog post on it later in the month. It is the Maybelline - The Colossal Kajal in black.

Maybelline - The Colossal Kajal in black

The second last beauty product in my daily arsenal is Palladio - Rice Powder in the shade Natural. You are probably thinking, what the heck is she doing carrying around Rice Powder, well ladies, this little pot of gold is the answer to any girls oily skin problems. I found this little gem at china city a few years back and was intrigued as to what it did. In simple terms, it's a mattifying powder with a hint of colour. It has a subtle perfumed scent and goes on velvety and clean. The formular doesn't leave clumps and weird patches and the wear is over 5 hours. I love this little product for daily use.

Palladio - Rice Powder in Natural

Palladio - Rice Powder in Natural

Lastly is my best friend, the one item I will carry with me to the grave. It is the Garnier  - Roll On for eyes. This tube of greatness has taken me from baggy eyed witch troll, to bright eyed and bushy tailed in a roll of the tube. It contains a variety of different ingredients that work in a harmonious synergy to make your eye bags look as if you have slept on a cloud.

Garnier - Roll On

So there you have it, all of my daily soldiers working together on my face to make me look human for the day! I'd like to just thank my awesome mom who bought me the Union Jack makeup bag. All of there products (other than the Typo Tissues and the Palladio Rice Powder, were all purchased from Clicks)

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Until next time...

LL