Wardrobe Replacement!!! :D :D :D

Hey guys!

I'm so excited! For the past few months I've been slowly replacing my wardrobe. That might sound kind of stupid, but considering I've had the same clothes since between grade eight and grade ten, if not longer; that's between 6.5 and 4.5 years!

I'm really excited about this. I'm a huge Kmart fan actually... I never used to be, but their clothes are getting better in quality. Half the time you can get exactly the same at Kmart as you can at Target for a third of the cost.

For example: I bought a shirt at Kmart for $3 (on sale, full price $15ish), when Target was selling an identical shirt for $25-$30 (I can't remember exactly).

So today I'm going to share a few of my latest buys with pricing, shop, and maybe a bit of a spiel.

Cardigans and Tights

It's winter in Australia and I've never been too worried about a light jumper thing, as I'm very much into hoodies. But above are some cardigans I've bought and liked.

1) This green cardigan is $15 from Temt, I bought the medium. It sits at about hip length with pockets. There is a collar around the neck and the arms are three-quarter length.

2) The green tights were $10 at Target. I didn't realise the were the same colour as my green cardigan.

3, 4 & 5) These cardigans are $15 at Valley Girl, I got the small. They sit at hip length with pockets and full length arms. I originally bought the black one but loved it so much I went back for the  dark magenta and grey. They are incredibly warm for how light they are. They also come in a purple, white/light grey and pale green.

6) These tights are the same as #2 and are the same colour as #5.



Skirts

1) This ankle length skirt is from Kmart for $10, reduced from $19!

2) This is a tightish skirt I got from Valley Girl for $15 reduced from $20. It is a bit smaller then I would like, but the skirt has room for larger hips than mine.

3) This red skirt I also got from Valley Girl for $15 reduced from $25. It isn't very clear in the photo but there are ruffles at the top which I quite like because it hides my stomach a bit.

4) I got this from Target for $22, it was reduced but I cannot remember what from. It's a pleated skirt that sits just above the knee and is really cute worn with black tights.

Shirts

1 & 2) I got these from Kmart for $8 and a red one on special for $5. They are awesome, the sleeves aren't too short and the green shirt helped me through to 3am at Relay for Life over the weekend!

3 - 6) I got these from Kmart as well. They are $6 and have been around for quite a while.

BED SOCKS!!

My bed socks were $12 from Target and they are so so warm with grip on the bottom. I wish I new how to knit socks!

Anyways, I just wanted to share my new stuff! The good thing about this is it should last a few seasons (or another 5years).

I think it is time to go through all my old stuff and give some away to lifeline! Or I could do a clothes swap! If you've never done it before and are interested, get a group of friends together (the closer to your size the better) and each put the clothes you don't want on the table and see what you can find of theirs that you like! At the end of this, if there's anything nobody wants, donate it!

Until next time!

Adiós Bellas Damas (I think that's right)

Stay Beautiful!

Nails

Hey Girls.

I recently purchaced the OPI Holland collection. I purchaced the dutch trats mini pack. The colours are so cute and wearable. The colours are;

I have a Herring Problem, Red lights Ahead...Where?, Kiss Me on My Tulips, Pedal Faster Suzi.

So in this turorial I used Pedal Faster Suzi and I think in Pink which is not from this collection.

Firstly I preped my nails by taking my old nail poilish off and making sure that you fix up and breaks and chips.

I then used I think in Pink and painted all of my nails.

I then wanted to use my new collection, especially Pedal Faster Suzi!

So I painted my ring finger with this colour over the top of I Think In Pink

The finished look..... You can't really see the ring finger that much but it does look so pretty.

So leave a comment below and tell me what your favourite nail look is.

Stay Beautiful

 Nikita

Lovin' the Bun!

Hey girls,

It has only been recently that I have really grasped the simple bun, before then it was this thing I had to do to my hair every week for ballet and never really much fun. BUT I'm loving it at the moment and I'm going to give you a quick how-to and you can develop your own style from there.

Step #1 - Prep

This step is optional. I prefer to wash my hair before putting it in a bun. My hair is so thick, to try and restrain it with a hairband whilst dry is annoying.
As I said this is an optional step but this bun can be worn for two or three days with barely any need for maintenance, so it's a good idea to wash it.



Step #2 - Tie it back

This is the easiest way to start a bun. There are many other ways which range from having bits separated from the rest or not using a hair-tie at all.
You can have your ponytail at any height, remembering that the height of your ponytail will be the height of your bun.
If you are having trouble getting it to the height you want, bend over as though you are going to touch you toes and use gravity to get your hair to the desired height OR lie on your back on your bed with your head hanging over the edge and do the same.

Step #3 - Bun it! Pin it!

For this step you twist your ponytail around your index finger while also spinning it around your ponytail (I'm sorry I couldn't get more photos). I Pinned the end into the bun with a bobby pin but you can also use bun pins doing this step to secure it.


Bun Pin

Using bun pins secure the twisted hair in place. I make sure I get the bun pin to sit firmly under the hairband. To finish off the bun I use my bobby pins to secure any lose hair and my fringe.


Buns are awesome. They are so versatile. You can have them plain, add a scrunchy, ribbon or a big clip. As long as you can get your hair into a ponytail you can make a bun (I have seen it done with incredibly short hair).

This was just a starter bun, you can do so much once you've learnt the basics. I have platted my ponytail and put it in a braided bun and you can created two buns using piggytails.

If you wear the bun high enough you can even sleep with it and wear it again the next day. I did that Saturday night, I woke up Sunday and put a few extra pins in and neatened up a few spots and had it for another day.

You're hair won't knot while it's in the bun either!

I love them!

So, that was a quick how to.

Until next time,
Stay Beautiful
Lauren




Nails, Nail Polish and Cars

Hey girls!

So I know that nails and nail polish being put in a beauty post along with cars is a bit odd but I promise it is relevant!

Last night I did my first attempt ever of putting on acrylic nails myself and failed pretty badly on my right hand since I'm right handed. I fixed it up a bit this morning and got moving with nail polish :)

Acrylic nails:
I went down to Kmart and bought an acrylic nails set for $24. It had descent instructions, supplied the nail extension things, the glue, and the liquid and powder acrylic. Plus it is far cheaper than paying $60 for it to be professionally done. Practice makes perfect!

I know earlier this year I was raving about OPI's Nail Envy and how awesome it is as a nail strengthener, AND I STILL STAND BY IT! but being an art student I rubble through trash, get oil paint, acrylic paint, oils, turpentine, methylated spirits, acids and drain cleaner on my hands constantly and it trashed my nails. So I'm going to try grow my nails under a layer of acrylic, where hopefully with refills I won't have any fake nail extensions beneath the acrylic.

Nail Polish:
Due to my cruddy job at fake nails I couldn't get any of my favourite polishes to sit nicely on the layer of acrylic that no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get smooth. In the above photo I managed to use "Napoleon Paris Chandelier Shine - Lust", or as I call it "Australia Post Red". This polish is by far my favourite polish in application but not my favourite colour.

Cars:
So you might be wondering how cars come into the equation. I love this little trick and I'm going to share it. My Dad used to always raid my nail polish collection, "Hey Lauren do you have silver? Do you have clear? Do you have blue?" I later found out he was using it on our cars. A little chip or scratch in the paint can be covered up by a little bit of nail polish. The nail polish seals it and if applied well with the right colour can be almost invisible. The nail polish I've used above is also my car's nail polish. The colour is a perfect match!

Anyhow, I mainly wanted to share my car tip but needed a way to get to it.

So until next time,
Stay Beautiful!
Lauren