If I Owned These Things I'd Be Happy, But Only For 5 Minutes...

I have my foot care tutorial ready to be published, but I needed to get something off my chest and tonight I've decided to write a little heart to heart post.  So the foot post can wait.  Seeing as I'm only posting once a week, it'll come next week.

This week something happened that kind of threw me off.  Every since I got wind of something a couple of days ago, I haven't been as "happy" as I usually am.  I'm stressed and my skin is breaking out in eczema patches again.  I'm not going to divulge, but this "news" has affected me in a major way, and also means a different way of life.

I'm pretty sure that when I stress over something, I don't deal with it as most people do.  Unless it's normal to overeat, or not eat at all.  Or stay in bed all day, staring at the ceiling.  Or even skip showering because I just can't muster the energy.  For anyone who's ever been depressed, all those things will sound familiar. This "news" has thrown me back into the depths of depression, just when I had one foot out the door.

Meh.  Such is life.

Anyway, this is how I deal with my depression: compile a wish list!  Here is what I've spent much of my waking hours obsessing over.  Why deal with the real world when I can forget all my troubles by thinking up ways on procuring unnecessary, expensive things?  Here's my "If I owned these things I'd be happy, but only for 5 minutes" wish list.

Image: www.burberry.com

I saw this modeled on a dummy in the Chadstone Burberry store.  WANT.  It looks hot, and it's a timeless piece.  Sure, I already own one (it was an amazing birthday gift a few years ago), but it's long and dark.  I want a shorter, lighter one!

Image: www.ferragamo.com

Have you ever slipped your foot into a Salvatore Ferragamo shoe?  If you want to remain oblivious to how amazingly comfy they are, then DON'T try it!  Once you pop (your foot in one), you can't stop (thinking about adding it to your personal shoe collection).

Image: www.jimmychoo.com

Again here's another classic, timeless piece.  Jimmy Choo's Rosalie handbags come in an assortment of colours and materials, but my favourite is the smaller sized Rosalie in "mock croc".  Pictured is the nude, but it also comes in black and fuchsia.  And boy, is the fuchsia HOT!  Perfect way to add a pop of colour to an otherwise drab winter outfit.

A few other things I am adding to this wish list but won't be pictured (because I'm lazy): Chanel lipsticks and foundations, YSL lipsticks, a flip top glamour makeup box, a boob job (in cup size D, preferably!) and my own luxury car (public transport on rainy days are totally not fun)!

So, are you rich?  Do you have a few thousand dollars just lying around, waiting to be spent on frivolous, materialistic crap?  If so, well I wish I were you!  I know money can't buy you happiness, but it can bring you a few moments of joy.  That may be all one needs to keep on truckin'... 

The No Makeup Tag

I was watching Kefrank12's No Makeup tag video and decided to do it myself. I think the questions help you get to know me a little bit better and I'm always interested in knowing how other people feel about makeup.  The girl who actually created the tag is MissTiffanyMA and her video can be found here: http://youtu.be/Wi1P8mih-NA. Below is my video, and below that are the questions in bold, and my written answers.  I hope you enjoy the video!  I tag... YOU!

Direct video link: http://youtu.be/fBpSntzzP40

1. Scouts honor that you aren't wearing any makeup :)

I most definitely was not wearing any makeup of any sort in the video, except for whatever was left over of my lip balm (KORA Organics) from the morning.  I filmed the video at 3pm.

2. What is one makeup product you cannot live without?

Lip balm!  Or something like lip gloss to keep my lips moist.  I can't stand the feel of dry, "naked" lips!

3. What is one makeup product you can live without?


Setting powder is a product I can live without.  It's not an absolute necessity and often, I don't even apply it after doing my makeup anyway.

4. Do you feel confident without makeup on?


Yes!  I'm much more confident without makeup than I am with makeup.  I feel so self conscious when my face is done up. I can constantly feel it and always wonder if I've accidentally rubbed my eyes and smeared my mascara or something.  Oh, the stress it causes me, lol!

5. Which part of your face do you like the most?


My eyebrows.  I don't ever have to do anything to it.  I like that it's naturally dark, thus I can skip a step in my makeup routine (of "drawing on" eyebrows). In fact, my sister plucked my eyebrows for me when I was 10 and since then, I've never really had to do much to maintain them.

6. Where is one place you will never go without makeup on?


A formal event, such as a black tie gala, red carpet, formal, wedding etc. Anything that calls for sophistication and class.

7. Where is one place you can go without makeup on?


Absolutely anywhere.  I'm not fussed.  I think I mentioned in the video that I have been clubbing without makeup before.  But I've also been to a few weddings and parties without as well.  Not to mention all the fine dining restaurants I go to (on a date) sans makeup!

8. Would you rather go without makeup for a week? Or let your boyfriend do your makeup for an entire week?

I would never give a man control over what to put on my face.  Hell no!  LOL, and I didn't mean that in a sexual context.  I would rather go bare faced for a whole week than have him play makeup artist.  I go for several weeks without makeup anyway!

Trials and Tribulations of a Wedding Guest + Possible Outfits

Exactly one month from now, I will be attending an asian wedding reception. This is a big deal to me, as I rarely get invited to anything (be it family BBQs, weddings, hen's night etc).  I suppose that has something to do with me being the black sheep of the family, which really deserves its own post.  But anyway, back to this wedding... 

If I were a celebrity, this family friend's wedding would be the equivalent of being invited to attend a major award show, such as the Golden Globe Awards or the Grammys (Grammies?).  Weeks in advance I would work on my body, losing weight so I can look hot in the outfit that I planned and picked out well before the event. My nails would be trimmed ahead of time, so that they'll have enough time to grow to the perfect length on the night.  Manicure and pedicure would follow.  My skin would be buffed and polished to as near perfection as possible.  Peach fuzz will be tackled, hair coiffed meticulously.

I suppose for the average person, a wedding reception is just like a night out: you decide on an outfit a few days beforehand and you do your hair and makeup on the night.  For the average Jolene, it's a great night to eat, socialise and look pretty.  For me?  It's a big fucking deal. Attending an asian wedding reception further compounds this as in my experience I find that asians tend to be very judgemental.  High regard is given to those with the most expensive car, the more exclusive brands of attire, whichever high end logo your clutch embodies.  Failing that, they judge you for your looks.

In the next coming weeks you will see many "getting ready for the wedding" related posts.  This is just the first of many.  Before what I deem a "major event", I like to plan it all out.  Since I won't be rocking up in a Porche or wearing high end couture, I will have to work on ME.  I know that in order to feel good about myself at this wedding, I need other people to look at me and be impressed with what they see.

Yes, I'm superficial.

Let's be real.  If I don't feel good about myself on the night, I will have a shit time.  I'll avoid talking to people. I'll try to sit in the dark, far off corner so no one can see me.  Is that how I want to remembered?  Something akin to a shadow?  Hell no!  I want to have a good time like everyone else!  And in order to achieve that, I need to look great.

Possible outfits that will make me feel great
Before I can decide on how to fix myself up for the night, I need to know what I'm going to wear.  Here are a few possible outfits I'm thinking of.  All the styles are similar.  That is because I already own one of the dresses featured (just in a different colour) and I like how it looks on me.  All the dresses are from Pilgrim and all the shoes are from ZU.  I prefer ZU shoes because most of their styles are more comfy than others that are of similar style but from a different store.

Outfit #1

Pilgrim dress: direct link
Zu shoes: direct link

Outfit #2

Pilgrim dress: direct link
Zu shoes: direct link

Outfit #3

Pilgrim dress: direct link
Zu shoes: direct link

Outfit #4

Pilgrim dress: direct link
Zu shoes: direct link

What do you think?  Do you like the look that I'm going for?  Is there a standout dress/shoe combo that you particularly admire?  Let me know so I can make a decision!

Beauty Confessions: To Wax or Not To Wax?

I'm going to start a series of beauty confessions.  Lately I haven't been blogging as much because I haven't been able to play around with make up or buy/try new skincare products because of my "eczema" (still can't bring myself to call it that!)  So instead I shall confess to the world wide web my beauty quirks and sins that nobody knew about... until now! 

Ok, so I've written about how I get a brazilian wax every two months or so.  But most of the time, the truth is that I leave it for much longer because I can't really afford to spend money on something that nobody really gets to appreciate but me.  So here is my first beauty confession: sometimes, I give myself a bikini wax... with tweezers.  Yep.  Tweezers!

What I do is trim my down there hair with a bikini trimmer.  I believe it's by Remington?  I'm not sure, but it's pink and only cost me $20.  It has 5 or 6 different trim lengths, I always put it to 1, which is the shortest trim possible.  Everything gets trimmed nice and short.  I'm pretty much standing spread eagle in the shower with my head in between my legs.  There's a nice visual for you!  Haha!

Once everything is spiffy looking, I really could just leave it like that and call it a day, but I have way too much time on my hands and want to make it totally beach/pool friendly.  Sooo... I grab my mini slant tweezers (for some reason I prefer the mini to the regular size) and start plucking at all the hairs on the outer edges.  I spend a good ten to fifteen minutes plucking away, shaping it so that if I were to wear an itty bitty bikini I could do so without batting an eye.  Sometimes I leave it at that, but often I will go the extra mile and pluck until I have left myself a wide landing strip.

I know this sounds painful, but I actually don't really feel much of a sting at all.  I suppose I'm used to getting waxed down there, so these days I don't even flinch.  And, if I'm to be completely honest, the slight sting is quite addictive.  I want to pull out that hair to feel that little buzz!  Haha, just check me into the loony bin now.

Why don't I just wax?  Good question!  I find that wax just breaks the hairs and give me gross ingrowns.  If I pluck each hair out individually, then have a shower, I minimise the risk of ingrowns and my tweezed bikini "wax" lasts a lot longer.  For maintenance, I just go over with the bikini trimmer.  I basically let it grow though, and get a proper brazilian wax.  Or I just don't do anything, because nobody sees me down there anyway!

So, am I the only one who does this?  Have I just committed beauty blogging suicide?  I wish I could post a picture of my handy work, but for obvious reasons, you'll never get to see it.  Unless you wine & dine me, then get me sufficiently drunk.  Or just email me and ask for a photo.  LOL!  But seriously, is there anyone else who does this?  Girls, don't be shy... now is the time to confess!

Why I'll Never Love The Skin I'm In...

My thighs.  It's basically all over my lower legs too :(

Back of arms.  It's also kinda starting to appear on my forearms.  Argh!

I'm pretty sure the pictures will show you why I will never love the skin I'm in.  I have an unsightly, bumpy skin condition on almost all of my body.  Damn you keratosis pilaris!  I will post about it more later, but for now, look at the pictures and feel sorry for me.  Because I sure do :(  I'll never feel confident about myself, no matter how good I look, because my skin will never be pretty.  Pretty, smooth skin is what makes a girl.  Men often say they love how a woman's skin looks and feels.  This is why I don't want to get with any man.  Anyway.  I'm just feeling rather depressed at the moment, so this is a fitting post.  If you don't know what KP is, I will be writing in depth about it at a later date, and tell you the things I have tried to get rid of it.  *sigh*  Goodnight!

Date Night: Mixed Animal Print

Check out what I was planning to wear on a date. Here I was, all ready to go, all I had to do was put on some make up (I was planning for a smokey neutral eye with deep red/plum lips). At the last minute, it got cancelled because my mum (aka "babysitter") had a wedding to go to and I had completely forgotten. That sure taught me not to take her for granted! *sobs* Speaking of weddings, marriage is something I'm guessing I will never experience for myself... *triple sob*

Oh well! Such is life. I ended up going to the local pub with my boys for fish & chips. Of course I got changed into tracky daks, the regular attire one would wear to a pub. I didn't want old men staring at me! Let's face it, my skirt might as well have been a belt. I have terrible legs and possibly cellulite (I haven't dared look in years) but I still insist on wearing skirts that barely cover my butt cheek. Yep, I'm one of those... So why do I do it? Well, for some reason mid length or long skirts don't suit my frame. So the shorter the skirt, the better proportioned I look. Go figure!

Anyway, my point is, was my date night outfit trashy? I kinda feel like it was, but if you saw some of my past outfits from when I was younger, I have actually gotten heaps classier. I had a really skanky fashion sense back then (daddy issues, no doubt!) so I think I've improved heaps... right? *nervous grin*

If you have a lookbook account, fashion (and/or beauty) blog or a fashion (and/or beauty) channel on YouTube, please let me know about it as I love anything to do with fashion (and beauty)! Wishing you all a great weekend :)

My Love for Beauty

I've decided to start a blog about beauty. For over a year now I have been obsessed with fashion, beauty and all things girly. It might have hit me a little bit late, but better late than never! I've just turned 25 and I'm absolutely in love with makeup. To think I used to go out clubbing with just a little bit of eyeliner and gloss! Argh, what was I thinking?!

Make up was the last thing on my mind back in the days. You see, I was a new mum at 18 and I had a baby to care for. It's not that I didn't care about how I looked, it was just not so important for me to look my best. A baby will not love you more if you look hot. So I was always presentable, but not done up. I hardly went out anyway, so it didn't really matter how I looked. As long as I took care of my son as best as I could, I was happy with myself.

As my son got older I went out more and more. But like I said, I'd go clubbing with just lipgloss and eyeliner, thinking I looked fine. And I did. Everybody told me I looked great, regardless of my lack of made up face. So I just stuck with my natural beauty. It's so much simpler!

Fast forward to 2008. Slowly I was being more exposed to make up: my previous job, my love for magazines, celebs on TV, and even my sister. I was expecting my second baby and rather bored with daily life, so I started occupying myself by planning my outfits for outtings and how much make up I'd wear. It soon became an obsession and to this day, I'm hooked. Basically, I just want to make sure I look my best when I'm out in the real world!

So I'm going to start blogging about it all- my outfits, my make up, my body, everything. It doesn't matter if nobody reads this. My objective is to put it all out there so that one day, when I'm 65, I can look back and and say "ahh, the good old days!"