Sunday, April 28, 2013

What I wore: Early morning on the beach

It was Lola the Cavoodle's third birthday yesterday. What could be a better way for a dog to celebrate than to hit the beach with their doggy friends and run their damp, sandy legs off? We even found some abandoned tennis balls on the beach (just like a birthday present from God) and a stick. The stick was more exciting for my husband than the dogs. We managed a few games of cricket before the dogs stole the balls.

What I wore: Nude feather sleeved Cooper St t-shirt. This was good for me to blend in with the seagulls. Bright red pants from Why Not (gift from Aunt), ancient denim vest with an orange Witchery scarf, necklace (another gift from Aunt), old nude and khaki sandals and a stolen red hat.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

When punishment backfires

Once when the girls were being really annoying, I decided to be equally annoying and started speaking in an accent. I settled on a terrible version of a Texan accent. It was terrible because I am terrible at any accent.

We were driving through MacDonald's at the time. To the embarrassment of the girls, I kept the accent up through all the windows and even asked a few unnecessary questions to drag it out. I also smiled with all my teeth and asked for extra ketchup.
image source
Now, the girls insist I use the accent whenever we go through a drive through. Lucky this isn't too often. So much for punishment.

Have you had any punishment that has backfired?

Friday, April 26, 2013

Get some air in your hair

It's no secret that love hair and beauty products. I'm always on the look out for new, delicious goodies I can add to my ever growing collection. What I didn't realise was that I had a massive hole in my collection. Something I didn't even realise I needed and I had needed the entire time. I felt like such a dumb arse when I discovered this missing product.

Am I the only person that didn't know that the correct hair brush makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE. I'm not exaggerating. A few years ago some twelve year old girl in a one-shop-sells-everything kinda shop highly recommended a brush for blow drying and I hungrily handed over however much cash she wanted and loyally used that brush for years.

Fast forward to last Wednesday, I casually asked my BFF/hair guru about the GHD brush and which one she uses. I decided on the spur of the moment to purchase it.

I used it this morning. Why did I wait 2 days before using it!! It halved my drying time and gave my hair bounce. Who knew? My concern is, that if she really was my BFF, why didn't she insist I buy one sooner?

Before
completely unaware of my flat, airless hair. 
After 
Just like a shampoo advertisement.
 In with the new, out with the old
Next week, I'll talk about the different kinds of brushes and what they do. I can't let you go through what I have.

How is your brush situation?

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Image review and a giveaway valued at $95

I was asked if I would be interested in reviewing the latest Image Skincare O2 facial and I answered with a 'Hell yes!! I fell in love with this skincare range when I stumbled across it at the Beauty Expo in Sydney last year. My skin has improved dramatically since starting an Image regime.

The O2 facial is designed to exfoliate, illuminate and oxygenate.
The facial steps are:
Cleanser. A gentle milk cleanser massaged in and removed with sponges.
Enzymatic facial peel. I love this, it goes on like gel and then starts getting clumpy and lumpy as it works it's magic.
Oxygenating Facial Masque. This goes on thick and white. Initially, it feels like little ants walking across your face, then like rain drops splashing onto you. You can actually feel and hear the air bubbles popping as the mask starts disappearing. Eventually it's all gone. In the meantime, you are getting a delicious scalp, shoulders and back massage. Here is a teeny video showing the popping mask.
Stem Cell Facial enhancer. This serum is gently massaged over your face, neck and decollate. The facial is finished with moisturiser and eye cream.

As any normal person would, I loved this experience. At one point I felt myself falling asleep but forced myself out of a slumper so I would be able to remember and record my experience. I'll admit that I went into the facial with a huge, red blinder pimple on the side of my nose. Lucky me! After the facial, the redness was gone and the pimple reduced. The next day it was gone altogether.

My skin looked so friggin' awesome that I went out to dinner with my husband later sans makeup. I didn't even need concealer for the blinder. I looked that radiant and fresh that I didn't want to cover it up with products that promised to do the same.

Now you have an opportunity to fall in love with Image skincare and Beautiful You Hair and Beauty Day Spa too.

GIVEAWAY!!!! - This competition is closed and the winner has been contacted
Beautiful You Hair and Beauty Day Spa have offer to treat one lucky reader to an Image Skincare O2 Facial valued at $95. Make sure you are local or able to get to the Day Spa located in Redcliffe.  To enter please:
1. Comment below or on the facebook page. Tell us why you would like to win this treatment.
2. Like Beautiful You on Facebook. You can do that here;
3. If you are feeling generous, you can like Redcliffe Style on facebook too - here
4. Enter before 6am on 30 April 2013

I promise you will love it!


Beautiful You Hair and Beauty Day Spa
3284 6463
4 Duffield Road, Margate

Today I am linking up with IBOT

Monday, April 22, 2013

Monday's Motivating Playlist

It's been a little while since my last motivating playlist. I could blame it on children, school holidays or life but that would just be making excuses. Motivation is not about making excuses. So, I haven't done a playlist lately because I haven't.
But now I am really pumped up, I have just done a quick 10km run to this....

Stay - Rihanna
Piece of my Heart - Janis Joplin
Impossible - James Arthur
I never liked you - Rogue Traders
One More Night - Maroon 5
Ja Ho! - A R Rahman
Just Give me a Reason - P!nk
Jungle Drum - Emiliana Torrini
Me and My Imagination - Sophie Ellis-Baxter
When I was your man - Bruno Mars
Landside - Dixie Chicks.

Tomorrow I am stuck on a day long school excursion, Nooooo!!!! Not my favourite thing to do, but at least I'll be hanging with one of the coolest people I know. My youngest daughter.

On Wednesday I'll be aiming for 12km, so I need to add at least 2 more songs to my playlist. Any suggestions?

This is my workout top today. Notice the holes. I'm that thrifty that I'll wear workout clothes to death

Friday, April 19, 2013

Vegetarian gone wild

Yesterday attended the launch for Variety of Chefs 2013. Nine top Australian chefs have given up their time to help raise money for Variety Children's charity. We got to get up and personal with the chefs and devour a selection of amazing canapés. I have been a vegetarian forever. It's been about 20 years since I have eaten meat, chicken or fish. I decided if these chefs could generously give up their time for this amazing cause, I could give up my fussy eating for a few hours.
After feasting on delicacies like duck liver parfait, deep fried quail egg, sand crab cannelloni, salted caramel filled quail eggs and more. My taste buds didn't know what hit them. I'll admit that I enjoyed every bit of it.
 ...until I had the oyster. That slimy, salty lump is not for me.
The highlight was listening to Variety discuss the children they have been helping. They visited a school with the chefs the day before and participated in wheelchair dancing with the children. It brought tears to my eyes.

The other highlight was meeting the charming Adrian Richardson.
The Variety of Chefs 2013 Ball will be on 15 June 2013 at the Brisbane Hilton. This will be a fantastic night out with amazing food guaranteed and helping some beautiful children. Tickets are $250 and can be bought online - here 

Thursday, April 18, 2013

What I wore: Girls day in town

Today I am heading into town for a girly day out.  We'll do a spot of shopping and also stop by the Hilton for a media preview of the 2013 Variety of Chefs Ball. Variety is an amazing children's charity and this will be a fantastic night out. Tickets are $250 they are definitely worth it.

What I'm wearing:
A dress from Kitten D'amour. This is currently reduced from $139 to only $59. I love a bargain and it's so cute and so easy to wear. A pair of voodoo tights. It's a chilly Brisbane morning and a pair of Nu shoes. These are lower than I usually wear but I don't want to get sore feet if we decided to go on a shopping marathon.

I cheated with my hair. Bed hair twisted and pinned. My 2 second hair do plus my new gorgeous 'Pink me up' Maybelline lippy.
I'll fill you in with all the ball details shortly.


PS: at the last minute I had a wardrobe issue. Something to do with a naughty puppy x

Monday, April 15, 2013

How to dress post mastectomy...

Today I am guest posting on one of my favourite blogs, Styling You. The stylish Nikki Parkinson has been busy with Fashion Week and I have been busy not going to Fashion Week :)

A regular reader of Styling You asked for help dressing post mastectomy. You can read the post here - Dressing after a Mastectomy. Please head over and visit me over there.

Thank you Nikki for the guest posting opportunity.



Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Hiding at the back of a wardrobe...

I was digging around the linen wardrobe searching for winter quilts and quilt covers. I found lots of other things. A dead cockroach, a stray shoe 3 sizes too small for the smallest family member, a plank of wood, a broken toy and this.....
I felt a rush of emotion when I saw it. I painted this when I miscarried my first baby. I was heartbroken and I wanted to capture my image of her/him. So many tears landed on this canvas that it must be more water paint than acrylic. I ended up falling pregnant again soon after and having a beautiful blonde baby. My second girl was a brunette and looked just like this.

It's funny what you find in the back of wardrobes. What have you discovered lately?

Redcliffe Style does Mount Coolum

Last Saturday morning we woke up early to hike up Mount Coolum. It was raining all the way there but we weren't going to let a little rain dampen our spirits.
 The girls fashioned a tick protecter around their heads. I guess they must have worked.
The rain stopped for our climb but left the path slightly muddy and a little slippery.
Ah, the view.
Then we hot footed it down the path in search of a second breakfast. Raw Energy in Peregian was awesome. I highly recommend their breakfast Potato stack with basil and cumin sauce. No photos because it was inhaled before I even thought about it.
After a spot of boutique shopping, we hit the beautiful Peregian Beach.
Who knew he was such a romantic?
Now we are planning our adventure for next weekend.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

10 things - Wardrobe items that should never be seen in public

Sometimes I will be driving down the street, or walking through a shopping centre and someone walks past. I'll struggle not to look. I want to check their outfit from the front, side and back and sometimes it's not for good reasons. But, good manners keep my face expressionless and my eyes straight head.

I have complied a list of items that really shouldn't be worn in public:
This is a Redcliffe Style original but feel free to use it.
  1. Really, really short denim shorts. They have become so short that they don't cover butt cheeks. Walking around Westfield, I have stopped noticing teenagers bare, bottoms hanging down low out from under their shorts. This makes me sad. When your bum is at it's most awesome, you want people to appreciate it when you are faulting it. We are now numb to bums.
  2. Tracky daks. I don't even think these should be worn around the house.
  3. Leggings/bike shorts. It's fine to wear them to the gym but when you take them out of the gym setting, this is a problem. I saw a lady today wearing bike shorts grocery shopping. I assume she must have come from the gym, but the fabric was so worn I could make out every crease, dimple and pimple. But good on you for working out hard enough to wear out your shorts.
  4. Crocs. What can I say? Original Crocs are ugly and difficult to walk in.
  5. Out and proud g-string. I understand that sometimes outfits look better with no VPL but that doesn't mean they look better with your G-string proudly displayed over the top of your jeans. Test your outfit out in front of the mirror, crouch down low and bend over. If you are displaying g-string or butt crack come up with a solution. A belt, longer top, higher pants or full brief nickers all work well.
  6. Men wearing ladies skinny jeans. Why!!?? If they are uncomfortable for ladies, how are you managing? If you want children later in life, please stop wearing them. I must be showing my age but I can not imagine any girl being attracted to a boy that steals from her wardrobe;
    • or Men wearing their pants hanging down to their knees. Beside the fact that it looks like they pooped their pants, we can see all of your undies and you look like a dick head.
  7. Bra straps. Unless it's new and cute and adds something to your outfit, make sure you wear the correct bra for your top or dress. Plus, invisible straps aren't invisible. I'm no superhero and I can see them quite easily.
  8. Bikinis anywhere other than the beach. I could forgive a fish and chip shop or ice-cream shop, but if you are more than 20 metres from the water, it's time to cover up. I'm not asking for much, just a little cotton skirt or a light dress will do.
  9. Bare feet. Anywhere, anytime.
  10. Fur. I mean fur from our beautiful animals but it can extend to a furry back too.
Yup, another original.
What have I forgotten? What do you think shouldn't be worn in public?



Friday, April 5, 2013

5 Common Makeup Hygiene Mistakes

1. Dirty, dirty brushes. You can imagine how full of dirt and bacteria they are. I have trained my youngest from an early age to clean my brushes and she does an excellent job. It might only happen once every few months but that is a lot better than NEVER. You should be washing your brushes every 2 - 4 weeks and if you suffer from acne you should be washing them even more often.

2. Using old makeup. Like Cupcakes, makeup has a life span too.  I dare you to go through your makeup kit and toss out anything that is past its use-by-date. I also toss anything that has changed smell:
3. Sharing. We are taught to share as children but they meant share everything except for makeup. NEVER, EVER share, like EVER.

4. Not washing off makeup or cleaning your face before bed. What??!!  I can't believe people actually do this.

5. Avoid makeup testers. Never use testers on your lips or eyes, EVERI wrote about that here - Would you like some faeces with that? 

"...one of out ever five make-up testers contain significant amounts of mould, yeast or faecal matter according to an investigation by a US morning TV show. Samples of make up testers from 10 stores were analysed by New York Uni microbiology dept, which found there was no difference in hygiene between testers at high end or budget outlets..."

and Dr Brooks from Jefferson Medical College said

"..you should just think E. coli equals faeces...the percentage of tainted makeup was 100%.."

AND, resist giving your smelly, bacteria covered, old makeup to your innocent children to play with.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Brisbane Bloggers Workshop

You may know that I'm part of Blog Power Events. We have been working hard putting together our first Brisbane Bloggers workshop.  It's going to be on the North side of Brisbane on 28 April 2013 and it's going to be a doozy. We have organised some awesome speakers:

Annabel Candy from Successful Blogging
Mick Cullen from Redcliffe Marketing Labs
Melissa Walker Horn from Suger Coat it
Dana Flannery from Talk about Creative

These guys know their stuff and are happy to share their knowledge. This is going to be a fun networking and learning workshop. I know I'll be taking notes like crazy. Tickets are only $75 for bloggers.

I hope to see you there!!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The Classic White Shirt: One shirt, 6 looks + Giveaway $169

A classic white shirt really is blank canvas to build a look. This is one of the most versatile wardrobe items and every one should own one. As evidence, in 5 minutes I have thrown together 6 looks from items in my existing wardrobe. The key item is a White Natasha Rais Bette Shirt Silk Crepe De Chine.

Night time
Natashia Rais white shirt, Kitten D'Amour black pencil skirt and sequinned Nine West heels
Casual
Natashia Rais White shirt, old worn denim vest, orange Witchery scarf, patterned JAG jeans, orange Havaianas and a hat stolen from my 7yo.
Sunday brunch
Natasha Rais White shirt, Navy H&M skirt, Zola Mary Janes and a gold Guess belt
Off to Work
Natasha Rais White shirt, Grey linen VSSP skirt and old black heels
The Movies
Natasha Rais White shirt, Witchery jumper, Kitten D'Amour black capri pants and Django & Juliette ballet flats
Rock Chick
Natasha Rais white shirt, faux fur black vest, leopard scarf, Sussan black skinny jeans and studded black heeled boots.
Giveaway - This giveaway is now closed and the winner has been contacted by email

Thanks to Natasha Rais you have the opportunity to win one of their gorgeous, tailored shirts RRP $169. It comes in Black or white and sizes 8-16 and you can check it out here.  To enter please:

1. Tell me your favourite way to wear a white shirt. Comment either below or on the
    Redcliffe Style Facebook page;
2. Like Natasha Rais on Facebook. You can do that here; and
3. If you're feeling up to it, you can like Redcliffe Style on Facebook too - here.
4. Enter by 6am on 9th April 2013.

Good luck!

Disclosure: The Natasha Rais shirt was gifted to me, but I did not receive payment. I was very keen to support a local business and thought you guys would love the opportunity to win a beautiful shirt for yourselves.

Eula Graham - Director
PO Box 537
The Gap  Qld   4061
07 3511 1141
0402 633 617

On Tuesdays I link up with Essentially Jess