White with one, thanks

People. I have and announcement. 

I going to LONDON!

Blah blah blah, you don't wanna hear my excuses to why I've been completely awol for the last...year. Because in all honestly I don't have any nor do I want to make any up.

So here we go, stepping into the current and the future. I, myself, Erin Hipwell...yes that's me.... am going to London. Do I hear you asking "Why are you going there Erin",  (no I don't, but it was a good segue), I am going to London to Au Pair! Yes that involves children, the little human beings that rome the earth who are incapable of doing things for themselves. Well, I suppose that's where I step in. In a nutshell Au Pairing is (in most cases) travelling to a different country and staying with a family for your desired amount of time to look after their children, whilst giving you the experience to explore a new place and meet new friends! These days there are so many agencies that you can sign up to, which make finding your ideal family a breeze! I went through the agency Smart Aupairs- they were great and so lovely and made it really easy to find a really great  family! 

I will be jetting off on the 20th August on the long flight of 24 hours (why is Australia sooo far away?!?), and to add the insanity of the whole thing this is my first time overseas! I plan to stay until May, then depending on how much my bank balance has suffered I would love to explore around Europe for a little bit! I thought it was necessary to prepare myself of what's to come by watching the  movies such as The Nanny Diaries,  Uptown Girls, Mrs Doubtfire and of course Nanny McPhee. All the obvious picks. I am ever so excited to be venturing off and I hope this change will bring new interesting and inspired content to my little blog!

Although I am sparing you of any mediocre excuses I think it's well due and fitting for a quick catch up on the ever so exciting things that have happened in the past few months. 

I will do so by sharing a few of my snaps.

Here we have my cousin Tilly and I enjoying a Starbucks (Mint mocha with cream on top, mmm) in Melbourne, yes, I know I was in Melbourne again, what can I say it's a great city! A little fun fact for you I'm not a fan of Starbucks coffee, but my cousin is from Tasmania (the little island detached from the bottom of Australia, yes you probably forgot about it) and Tassie being very small they haven't yet got Starbucks (nor do they have 7Elevens?!?!?) so of course one of our first stops being Starbucks as she was ever so excited! That my friends, is how the 'holding our Starbucks drink' selfie came about.

The next photo is, not to brag but a beautiful pic taken at St Kilda water front- whilst we were still in Melbourne! The sunset that day was stunning, so accordingly we took ourselves to a local bar and quenched our thirst whilst taking in the scenic sunset!

Whilst I was going through my pictures I stumbled across this beaut of a selfie (yet another seflie), so with no reasonings I thought I'd throw it on into the collage.

Yes, wether you liked it or not, I watched Eurovision. I laughed, I cried (tears of laughter) and found joy whilst watching it. I swear every year it gets weirder and funnier, the winner of course this year being a man dressed as a lady. Enough said.

Not much to say about the next photograph except, to be a dog. Right?! They well and truly live the  life. This was a quick snap of my dog relaxing in the morning winter sun. 

But first.......let me take a selfie. Joking joking. I thought I'd just include this selfie as I love the headband and the yellow coat.

Ahhhh, prepare yourselves, raw carrot cake. It's healthy, it's cake and you don't have to wait for it to cook, erm what more could you want?! If you want to make this there are multiple recipes on the internet, I seriously recommend trying it!

Last but certainly not least a pic of me when I got my passport! Yay! Probably the most exciting pic on my phone! This girl is going to England! 

After that well needed ramble of a post, I say it's good to be back and can't wait to upload fun and..more frequent content. If you made it this far, you deserve a medal gal!

Speak soon.

xx

Makeup Menu: Holla Spring

  WELCOME BACK and a big hello to Spring

Hello Guys, to say 'it's been far to long' is an understatement, my apologies for taking my time to get back into blogging, but I can assure you that this time i'm back for good and it's going to be better than ever.

Today I was sat on my bed bored out of my brains when I had literally realised that I had totally neglected my blog. Anyway I got off my bed, did my makeup and and here I am posting my first blog post in around 5 months. Shocking. All I can say is that you never realise how much you love something until you get it back.

From the fresh dewy skin to the sheer orange lips, this look screams 'spring is here'!

                                                               - MAKEUP -

FACE

Smashbox Photo Finish primer

Giorgio Armani Lumninous Silk foundation

Rimmel Wake me up concealer

Clinque creamy concealer

Rimmel Stay Matte translucent powder

The Body Shop Cheek Tint

Benefit Hoola bronzer

tRevlon ColourStay mineral finishing powder

Benefit High Beam highlighter

EYES

Maybelline Colour Tattoo barley branded

Stila 'In the light' pallet - kitten, sunset, luster

Natio Brow kit

Stila smudge stick water proof eyeliner

Maybelline the falsies 

LIPS

                                Maybelline Colour Whisper 40 Orange Attitude

Melbourne Trip take 2

Hi guys!

So recently my friend and I spontaneously decided to embark on an adventure to the great city of Melbourne! We went for 3 nights and 4 days, stayed in a cheap backpackers hotel called the Space Hotel - which I extremely recommend if you're ever staying in Melbourne as it's located in heart of Melbourne CBD and you get great quality for cheap prices. Anyway, during the 4 days we were there we did some major shopping in places like the CDB, Bridge St and Chapel St- and of course making a cheeky visit to Top Shop as well. We also stopped of at the famous Queen Victoria Markets, they were amazing, full of fresh produce which was all incredibly cheap! As we only had 3 nights there our dinner choices were very important, on our first night we went to a Tame Impala gig, which was beyond amazing- if you've never heard of them they are an Australian band well known for their psychedelic rock, click here to hear them! Anyway because we had that on Friday night we were a bit short of time and didn't really know our way around the big city yet, however we stumbled across this cute little Indian restaurant and had a delicious mixed plate of curries, rice and nann bread! On Saturday night, with more time up our sleeves we decided to take ourselfs through the bustling China Town, we came across a busy restaurant with a line out the front, so we joined the line because we thought it would be good, and it was good, so good! We ordered a shredded pancake, san choy bow and vegetable steamed dim sims, everything was delicious and it was such a great price- really sorry but I cannot remember the name of this restaurant! On our third and final night we went to  'Little Italy' in Melbourne's Lygon St, full of great traditional Italian restaurants, this place was really like Italy! We were lucky enough to receive a complimentary drink and garlic bread thanks to the man that persuaded us to eat at his restaurant. After 4 long days of walking everywhere, eating a ridiculas amount of food  and spending all our money we set off on our journey home back to Brisbane dreading going back to our normal lives of work and university. However we had such a great time and can't wait to visit Melbourne again! Here are a few pictures we took. 

Haul & Review: NYX

Hi guys, my apologies for the late post, however the other week my NYX products finally came in the mail! YAY! So over the past few weeks I’ve been trying all the products out and as promised here is my full review on each product I purchased. I would firstly like to say that I was really impressed with the quality of these products considering how cheap they were!
I purchased my products from www.cherryculture.com, however if you are from the US you can just purchase it from www.nyxcosmetics.com! 

 BLUSHER 

1                     PB07 NATURAL

2                     PB01 MOCHA

3                     PB17 DESERT ROSE

After using all three blushes I can truthfully say that I absolutely love using them, and may even go as far to say they have made it into my everyday makeup ritual. Each colour I’ve chosen serves a different purpose, Natural would be perfect for first time blush users, or people who are a little scared of using blusher, as the name states it gives a really natural flush which allows your skin to look glowing and healthy. Mocha is my personal favourite and the one I most commonly wear, it’s a lovely deep, browny pink. It gives a really nice warm effect on the cheeks and is perfect for everyday wear. Desert Rose has been the one I’ve worn the least, however I still love it. It’s also a very deep, maroon pink and it looks really great with a nude lip and simple eyes, as when wearing this blush it does tend to be the focal point of your makeup. These blushes last all day which is a fabulous bonus when purchasing any blush. The packaging is also very minimal so perfect for travelling or putting in your handbag. Overall I am very happy with the NYX blushes and can’t wait to purchase more colours!

 EYESHADOW 

   
        1                     ES71 ALHOA

2                     ES34 SUEDE

3                     ES17 WALNUT

I chose this trio of eyeshadows so I could wear them all together as a very natural warm and brown smokey eye- and that’s exactly what I got! I am oh so happy with these eye shadows aswell! For an everyday eye look I firstly cover my eye lid with aloha, not going out of the crease and then also a little bit on my brow bone and my tear duct area, I then blend suede lightly in my crease to add some definition to my eye. Then if I wish for it to be a little more dramatic I use walnut on my outer corner of my eye lid and blend that though the crease and over the outer half of my eye lid. This look is perfect for everyday use or with a nice winged eye liner perfect for night time occasions too! These eyeshadows are extremely pigmented and creamy, they also stay looking fresh without creasing all day long!

 LIQUID ILLUMINATOR

I absolutely love this liquid illuminator in LI02 Gleam. Its amazing silky formula provides a perfect touch of radiance to the cheeks. Whilst acting as a illuminator it also can double as a bronzed coloured blush or highlighter. I literally put the tiniest amount onto my finger and dab it onto the tops of my cheeks and it automatically makes my face look glowing. This was one of my favourite products I bought and was very impressed with the quality of it.

LIPGLOSS

   
        1                     BLG08 APPLE STRUDEL

2                     SMLC08 SAN PAULO

3                     BLG12 CHERRY PIE

I love each of these lip products; the formula is so smooth and creamy which makes it super easy to apply. Each one literally lasts 3 or more hours as they work as a lip stain and lip gloss. Apple Strudel is a very light pink verging on almost nude; this is a great lip gloss for the “no makeup look” as it’s really transparent. San Paulo works well as an everyday lip cream as well, I like to think of the colour as an enhanced natural lip colour, so also very great for the “no makeup look”. Cherry Pie is a really vibrant red; it can be worn lightly to give your lips a little hint of red, or can be applied quite thickly to look dramatic. My favourite thing to do with San Paulo is to firstly apply my favourite red lip stick at the moment, Rimmel’s 111 Kiss of Life from the Kate Moss collection, then apply San Paulo over the top this makes my lips look plump and voluminous, I love it!

NAILS

This nail polish colour may not be the most attractive colour but since winter is quickly I thought it was fitting to purchase a grey, matt colour for my nails! I wasn’t initially planning on purchasing a nail polish from NYX, however once I saw the price I knew I had to buy it! The formula is really silky and it goes on really smoothly. It started to chip on about the 3^rd day, which I thought was pretty impressive. 

Makeup Menu: Night Out #1

Hello!

Today I was hoping that my NYX makeup delivery would arrive in the mail so I could upload my new post, however it didn't so I decided to share with you yet ANOTHER makeup look I've just recently tried out! This look consists of a simple winged out black liner with a light eye shadow on the eye lid coupled with bright pink lips. 

I'd also just like to mention 2 important things quickly  Firstly you may have already noticed in my side bar on the right hand side that I've nominated myself in Company's Style Blogger Awards 2013 for 'Best Personal Style Blog – Newcomer'. I know the chances of me winning are slim to none, but it would mean alot to me if you did vote anyway! If you would like to vote just click here :)

Secondly as you may have already heard Google friend connect is closing down, so it would be great if you could follow me on Bloglovin', if you would like to just click here :)

Sorry about all that housekeeping, enjoy!

- MAKEUP -

FACE

MAC Pro longwear foundation NW20

MAC Studio Fix NC25

Revlon ColourStay mineral finishing powder

Mac Studio finish concealer NW20

Maybelline Fit Me Deep Coral 306

Australis Bronzing Powder Sunkissed

EYES

Covergirl Intense shadow blast primer

Chi Chi Nudes pallet

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Black

Revlon Colour Stay Starlight 360

Maybelline Master Precise liquid liner

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Show off Mascara

LIPS

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm stain Lovesick Passionnee                                                    

Makeup Menu: Fun & Flirty

Hi Guys!
It's been wayyy to long since I last blogged! Guess what!................I've decided to quit university! 'WHAT', you say? Don't worry, I'm not planning on becoming a drop out dead beat, I am going to get a 2nd job and will continue studying in a few months or so! I just decided Business wasn't for me, and as you may have already figured I enjoy being quite arty farty, so I plan on resuming my studying, but instead transferring over to Graphic Design, which I am extremely looking forward to!

Anyway, I'm currently really excited because recently I visited the NYX online store and once discovering how cheap it all was, I went just a tad crazy and bought a tone of makeup products! I've heard all round really good reviews about alot of NYX's beauty products, especially their makeup, so I'd thought I would jump on the bandwagon and purchase some products too! Here in Australia it's quite hard to find NYX products in stores, so in my case I had to go online, I'm not completely sure if the prices vary from in store to online, but holey moley online was cheap! The reason I'm telling you guys this is because when they finally come in the mail, I will be doing a full review of each product and my online shopping experience! So stay tuned for that as it will be coming very soon!

In the meanwhile here is just a fun little post with some, silly, snaps of me with my favourite makeup look at the moment. I think it's really fun and flirty and perfect for a night out! Nothing special, but I hope you enjoy!

- MAKEUP -

FACE

MAC Pro longwear foundation NW20

MAC Mineralise Skinfinish NW20

Revlon ColourStay mineral finishing powder

Revlon powder blush 040 Softspoken pink

Covergirl simply ageless eye concealer 210

Mac Studio finish concealer NW20

EYES

Covergirl Intense shadow blast primer

Chi Chi Nudes pallet

Maybelline The Falsies mascara

Maybelline Master Precise liquid liner

LIPS

Chi Chi Boy Magnet 

OOTD: Autumn has arrived!

Bonjour,

So today I realised we had made our yearly transition into Autumn! When I realised this I was so excited that I decided to do an Autumn inspired 'outfit of the day' and makeup. It’s nothing fancy, just something I’d wear on an everyday basis. So here it is, I hope you enjoy!

xx

- OUTFIT -

Headband - Colette

Jumper - SES

Pants - SES

Shoes - London Rebel

Socks - Target

- MAKEUP -

FACE

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

MAC Mineral Skinfinish Medium

Rimmel Blush pallet

Revlon ColourStay mineral finishing powder

MAC Studio sculpt concealer NW20

Revlon ColourStay under eye concealer

EYES

Covergirl Intense shadow blast primer

Chi Chi Nudes pallet

Maybelline Eye Studio gel pot Black

Rimmel Scandal eyes mascara

Maybelline brow powder light brown

LIPS

Rimmel lipstick Heart Breaker  016

NAILS

O.P.I Pompeii Purple

Favourites: Drugstore Makeup

Hellooo guys! Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Australia Day! Wow, I haven’t blogged for absolutely ages, which I apologise for! So, this is my first post since I’ve finished school and so many things have happened over my 3 month holiday! It would literally take a novel for me to tell you everything that’s happened! So...I’m going to leave you wondering! Anyway, I’m going to get straight back into it and do a ‘Favourites’ post, this edition is going to include drugstore makeup products I’ve really enjoyed using these past couple of months! I hope you enjoy!

RIMMEL- Wake Me up Foundation

Rimmel’s ‘Wake Me Up’ foundation is amazing for everyday use! I had actually held off from buying it since it came out as I thought I’ve already got so many foundations and I don’t need any more. However, my inner ‘shopaholic’ side came through and I just had to purchase it! As soon as I applied it, I knew I was going to absolutely love it! As the bottle reads, it literally does make you look ‘woken up’! Instantly after applying I could notice my skin was glowing and radiant. The coverage I would say is medium, which is really perfect for everyday use, when you don’t want to look like you’ve got a face full of makeup! Once applied on your skin, it does appear to have tiny bits of shimmer in it, this isn’t extreme, but it does assist in the glowing effect the foundation promotes. The foundation also has SPF 15, which is perfect for everyday use as it is protects your skin from the harsh rays of the sun.

REVLON- Photoready Cream Blush

Revlon’s Cream blush from their Photoready range is a really beautiful product! The colour I purchased is called ‘Flushed Rougissant’, number 200. I love the fact that it is a cream blush because it leaves a really natural finish, whereas a powered blush can tend to leave a caked, layered finish on the skin. In the container the colour looks bright fuschia, however on the cheeks it looks like a really subtle, pretty colour. I also find the packaging really easy for travelling as it is very compound and as you can apply it with your fingers there is no need for a blush brush!

COVERGIRL- Intense Shadow Blast

Covergirl’s Intense Shadow Blast Primer has been a must have for me lately! The colour I purchased is 810. This Primer is absolutely magic! I don’t usually wear primers on my eyelids, as my eyeshadow’s usually last throughout the day. However, since purchasing this product, I’ve never gone back to my old ways. Every day I apply a smear with the dome applicator that it comes with, and then with my ring finger I wipe it across my entire eyelid. This then leaves a really thin shimmery base. I’ve noticed that since using this product that it has enhanced the colours of my eyeshadow’s, and it does last throughout the day with no smudges.

REVLON- Just Bitten Kissable, Balm Stain

Revlon’s Balm stain from the Just Bitten Kissable range has proven itself to be my all time favourite everyday lip product. I purchased the colour ‘Romantic’, number 045. Depending on how you apply it this colour can be used for a night out, to just everyday use. In the daytime I apply a thin layer and then rub it into my lips, this gives a really natural lip colour. Then for a night time look, I apply it heavily all over my lips, this gives a really dramatic look for going out at night. It also smells amazinggg, like mint candy canes, mmm! As it is balm stain, it does feel very moisturising on your lips and lasts throughout the day. The applicator makes it incredibly easy to apply, even without a mirror!

MAYBELLINE- Eye Studio

Maybelline’s Eye Studio gel pot eyeliner is a really great product! Firstly I thought I’d say I’ve always been a liquid eyeliner person and I’ve always been a little bit hesitant and scared to use the gel. However, I thought I would go out a purchase myself gel pot eyeliner; I decided to go with this one because I had heard really good reviews! It came with its own little brush to apply it with, however I use my ‘Nude, by nature’ angled brush instead as I find it easier.  So far I can’t say enough how much I’ve been enjoying using this product. You can use it to just thicken up your lash line, or you can create a really dramatic winged effect for a night out. I’ve been wearing this throughout the hot Australian summer, and I was really impressed that it had managed to stay all day without any smudges. So if any eyeliner is able to do that, in my books it deserves an A+!

The catch up over coffee

Hi Guys!

Sorry for the lack of posts about beauty, health and fashion I've just been extremely busy, and I know that's such a lame excuse, but it's true! So today I've decided to share with you what I've been doing recently and what I've got planned over the next few weeks, kind of like a catch up coffee date!

Lets go all the way back to the last week of my holidays. So I got back from Melbourne and had a week to do nothing much before I headed back to school! Seeing as we had just got back from Melbourne I had absolutely no money, I only had $15 which meant I couldn't even get that money out of the ATM because the minimum amount is only $20, boo! But luckily for me I only had to wait till Tuesday for my pay to come in, but even so I had to use it very sparingly. Anyway, so a few friends and I made a couple of visits to the city to go to our favourite cafe called 'The Brew', it's down an alley way and it has cheap food and good coffee, if you're from Brisbane definitely recommend you checking it out, it's in Burnett Lane, just of Queen St Mall. So we did that, then being cheapskates sun-baked in the park. On another day we decided to see a new movie out called 'Ruby Sparks', great movie! Then on the Friday arvo my favourite band Ball Park Music played a free gig in Queen St to celebrate the release of their new album 'Museum'. They also had a CD signing, so my friend and I got a CD signed and met them. They are the most chilled, down to earth people I've ever met! The rest of my holidays consisted of watching Pretty Little Liars and sitting in the oh so warm sun! 

Okay, so when I got back to school I was automatically bombarded with an assignment for each subject, yay! Still to this point I am yet to open the task sheets for any of them. So it reached the second week of term 4 and the grade 12 cohort headed of to Toowoomba (aka middle of nowhere) to attend a retreat. It was full of affirmations, fatty foods and crying. Though because I'm not an emotional person at all whist everyone was crying, I stood there being awkward trying to force a tear out of my eye, but it just didn't happen. We also had to hand in our baby picture for it to be presented on the last school assembly, which was a little bit sad (it's down below). 

So now that your up to date with my life, I'll share some exciting things coming up! The next few weeks are shaping up to be pretty damn decent! So on Tuesday night I've got my last awards night ever and I, Erin Hipwell, won an award, god knows what for but who cares! Then not the weekend coming, but the weekend after that, I've got the Last Dinosaurs and Jungle Giants concert then the week after that I've got the Ball Park Music and Loon Lake concert then the week after that is my last week of school ever, super excited! And then on that Saturday I head of to Schoolies, for all you that don't know what Schoolies is, it's when all year 12's of Queensland (and most of the rest of Australia) head to the Gold Coast and spend a week there partying it up to celebrate finishing 12 years of schooling! Then after that a solid 3 months of holidays before I start University! So, as you may have guessed I'm pretty keen! 

Sorry for the masssssive post, but I thought it was appropriate to catch up properly! I'd love to see what you guys have been upto! Anyway in a few days my 'herbal tea' review will be up! Catch you later! xx

P.S sorry for the crappy quality photos most are just from my phone!