OOTD: Thursday morning, day and night

This week is the last of the semester. I only have one semester of uni to go. This is incredibly daunting to me, and I spent a good two hours today venting to one of my best uni friends about how nervous and anxious I feel when contemplating the future ahead. I'm excited for it, yes, of course. But nervous as hell and prone to hyperventilating and burying myself under my blankets when my mind dances over to the big scary 'FUTURE.' One of my friends got a job, and is dropping out of our course to pursue full-time teaching in an amazing school, and I am positively elated for him. But that just made it feel so real to me, that in just a few short months, I'll be expected to do the same, and truth be told, I am 100% not ready. Not even 10% ready, really. 

Anyway, I'll leave my nervous breakdown/anxiety rant for another day. Today was just nice. Despite starting uni at 8am and work later tonight - outside, the sun is shining, I managed to snag a park in free parking (no $8 fee for me, woo!), chatted with friends outside for hours, managed to deliver my presentation in class adequately and I'm just glad days like these exist. Plus I found some super cute boots at Target the other day and wore them today and I didnt get the usual aching that comes with new shoes that haven't been broken in! Ah. Small mercies.

 Jumper: New Look (link)
Jeans: Cotton On (DIY distressed/ripped - link)

Boots: Target (link)

Purchased: Don't wear hats on windy days

I have a massive problem with hats. I own a handful or so, but hardly ever get to wear them because the weather is so tempermental here, and there is usually at least one bout of extreme windy weather during the day. And I typically make bad decisions, and wear hats on the most extreme of these windy days. So I kind of purchased this ASOS hat really hestitantly, knowing I would probably wear it only once or twice in the winter months to come. Hashtag 'I make silly decisions when there is a 20% off sale.'

ASOS: Felt Fedora Hat, currently $29.41  (link)

I usually have a great experience with ASOS and have only had around 2 complaints in the past 4 or so years I've been purchasing from them. Usually this arises from a discrepancy between the photos provided on the site, and the actual quality/fit of the garments themselves. The fedora photographed above is pretty accurate to reality - although it's a lot wider brimmed on me than on the model. However, it's also quite stiff - the felt is not very pliable and I'm not too sure if it'll relax and become more 'floppy' as time goes on. I hope it does though, because the brim looks a lot nicer when it's relaxed rather than very stiff and awkward all around. I do love the pinched top though, and it seems like it'll go with a lot of clothes in my wardrobe.

PS: Sincere apologies for the crappy Photobooth photos, but my iPhone is atrocious when it comes to focusing and my camera charger has disappeared into Narnia or something. *bows out apologetically*

Nails ETC: Valentine's Day and Candy Heart nail art

Ah, February 14th. Just any other day really, but unfortunately we get bombarded with advertisements about 'the perfect gift' and instructions how to 'show her how much you really care...' Flowers, chocolates, jewellery, romance, pink, red, lions, tigers and bears, oh my! I'm firmly of the opinion that you should show love and care to the people in your life every day, rather than just a burst of affection on Feb. 14th. So I reassured my boyfriend that I really didn't want a present and secretly hoped that he would. No, I'm just kidding! I really didn't want a present. But I think he was sucked in to the whole Hallmark holiday schtick and I answered the front door to a rose, box of chocolates, balloons and a sweet card - also my boyfriend too. And despite myself not wanting a present, I did get him a gift voucher for the hot springs. So I guess I did give in. Once again. Damn you, clever marketing and guilty conscience. 

I've seen some lovely Valentine's Day ideas online though - like taking your children out for little dates, special cards for strangers and making baked goods and delivering them to neighbours. That's something I can get on board with!

Date night: Cotton On 'Miranda' denim shirt, OPI 'Minnie Style', OPI 'French Quarter For Your Thoughts,' Sportsgirl 'Mistress' sunglasses, Fujifilm Instamax 8 camera, Marc Jacobs 'Dot' perfume, Jo Mercer 'Hermione' heels
 

Swatches: Sally Hansen 'Triple Shine' nail polishes: 'Reef-Raf' and 'Dive In'

I went into Priceline a few weeks ago and noticed that Sally Hansen (whose top coats I swear by and whose formulas are consistently great) had a new range of nail polishes named 'Triple Shine.' There were only a few colours (mostly glitter) the first time I went in, but since then there is a full 29 colour range, including glitters, cremes and shimmers. Which is ten kinds of awesome for me, and ten kinds of despair for my bank account!

Triple Shine is marketed as a "High Shine Nail Enamel with Patented Gloss-Tech Brush to maximize shine with smooth colour application for a flawless finish." Phew! Basically, it's just extra shiny. I usually use a top coat anyway to seal in colour and prevent rapid chipping, so this isn't really a massive selling point for me. However, I can't really fault the colours I bought - they really are super shiny and well packaged. The brush is the same as the brushes in the Salon Manicure range - a thick flat, wide brush so that colour is evenly distributed and is consistent.

I purchased these two colours at Chemist Warehouse, as they were having a 2 for $15 sale. These usually retail at $9.95, but are currently on sale at Priceline for $6.95 I believe!

RIGHT: 'Dive In' LEFT: 'Reef-Raf'

 

 I tried using 'Reef-Raf' as the base for some Valentine's Day themed nail art today. The formula is pretty good. I used two coats for full opacity, and waited for the first coat to dry before applying the second, as it seemed to pull and drag if the first coat was still mostly wet. The picture below isn't that colour accurate - it's a pretty hard colour to capture on camera! Reef-Raf is a bright pink, not as neon as the photo suggests. It looks quite coral-leaning in yellow lighting. For a girl who's not a massive fan of pink, I do love this colour! Reef-Raf also reminds me a lot of Essie's 'Off the Shoulder' from a couple of years back. 

Must. Not. Go. Back. And. Buy. Them. All.

My Skincare Essentials

Wishlist: Romersk Sleepwear

Hello to anyone reading this! Summer is burning beautifully bright this year. I'm not a massive fan of the over 40 degree days, especially when I'm stuck at work, but with some air-con, ice-cubes and near naked attire (NOT when I'm at work), it's been manageable! I'll do a spam blog post soon of some of my favourite photographs taken recently. (I'm no professional photographer, these are all silly snaps taken on my iPhone!) Gotta love friends with pools in their backyards ;)

Another label that has caught my eye this year has been Romersk Sleepwear. I first spotted the label through an Instagram comment (@romersksleepwear - I bloody love the convenience of Insta) and I discovered that I adore their products! They've recently launched a new line of intimate sleepwear, suitable for the hot summer nights that await. Romersk do not have a large range of sleepwear items, but I think this just makes them all the more special. Items are suitably priced, and as written on their website, they exude a lovely state of mind - freedom, happiness and comfort. For dreamers, road trippers and lovers of life! Below are some of my favourite items from their intimates range - product names are clickable and will send you to the product page on the Romersk website.

Above: Alli Simpson for Romersk

 

 Above: HARLEY Ruffle Bralet in 'Raspberry' (from $34 AUD) and TALI Ruffle Short in 'Raspberry' (from $46 AUD)

 Above: LULU Romper (from $105 AUD)

Check them out on Instagram or on their website: <http://www.romersksleepwear.com>

Sweet dreams!

Wishlist: TRIANGL

The weather in Melbourne has finally delivered the goods! Today is a steamy hot 41 degree day, and the rest of the week looks to be much of the same. (I sound like a weather girl. Don't have the looks I guess. 'There's a 34% chance that it's already raining!') 

In the next week, I'm going to do several blog posts about items/products that are in my wishlist for this summer... forever drifting through my imagination, never quite attainable... But still lovely to admire!

1. TRIANGL Swimwear and Underwear (http://www.triangl.com)

Triangl is a Hong Kong based company that is Australian owned and managed, and their bikinis have been massively popular over the last few months. Their swimwear line is fairly minimalistic in design, but have a flattering cut, exude bright summer neons and neutrals and are made out of a micro-mesh/nylon and spandex blend - similar to wetsuit material. Personally, I prefer their underwear line designs to the swimwear range. Plus they're cheaper, so that's a bonus! And like always, Triangl's popularity paves the way for numerous other look-a-likes from other surf brands, so if you don't mind not having the label itself, you can probably find a similar look for a lower price. 

Triangl operates solely as an online boutique. They offer a flat rate of $10 shipping within Australia, and offer international shipping as well. Their website also offers a live chat to ask questions which is very helpful, as buying underwear and swimwear online can be quite difficult size-wise!

Cover: A Thousand Years (Christina Perri)

One of my great loves in life is music. And I'm slowly, slowly improving at guitar. I've always loved singing - even if I'm not amazing at it - and enjoy playing, even if it's just in the early hours of my morning in my bedroom alone. I covered this song recently, because it's one of my sister's least favourite songs ever (yes, you read that right), so I wanted to irritate her but it turned out that I really like the way it sounds! Please watch and subscribe to my channel, because it's looking quite lonely at the moment!

(http://www.youtube.com/user/stepha316)