The most amazing lip balm you will ever own.

January 9, 2013April 12, 2014 / Lisa

I have tried many lip balms throughout my life. Name a brand and I have probably used it at some point.

I go through phases of having really dry lips. For a period of time, my lips will be fine, but then something will trigger my lips to become really dry. And when they become dry, I tend to lick them a bit more, meaning they get worse.

Oh, you vicious cycle, you.

The brands* I have tried before have worked in most part. Eventually my lips have returned to normal and all was well again.

But I have found the most amazing lip balm. It deals with the dry, chappiness like that *snaps fingers*.

No more giving it a few days of licking lips and constantly applying lip balm until your lips return to normal.

This magical lip balm is Clarins HydraQuench Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm.

AND IT IS AMAZING.

I first found some of this Clarins lip balm in my possession thanks to Man Piece’s mother who works for Shiseido. She gave me a couple of little test tubes of it and I started using them.

At first I just thought of them as another kind of lip balm. But, oh no, this lip balm is so much more.

Over the Christmas period I was out in the sun a lot and one day I found that my lips had actually gotten a little bit burnt. Ouch!

I pulled out the Clarins lip balm and applied some. By the time I woke up the next morning, my lips were back to normal.

Amazing stuff, eh? LIQUID GOLD.

So I decided to pick some more up when at duty free over New Year’s. Best. Decision. Ever.

It comes in a 15ml tube and, although that doesn’t sound like much, it will last a long time.

The only downside is that I paid $27AU for it duty free. So it will probably be more than $30 anywhere else. Probably something I will only ever pick up duty free, just so I can get that slight discount.

Do you think I could get away with rubbing it all over my face?

I also hear pawpaw ointment is pretty good too? I have never tried it though. Something about putting “ointment” on my lips seems weird. Also, it doesn’t seem to be that popular in New Zealand. Or even available.

*Lip balms I have tried include Nivea, Blistex, Smackers, bees wax ones, cupcake flavoured ones, skull milkshake flavoured ones (?? don’t even ask) and M&Ms. The M&M ones are actually pretty good, but have a very strong smell and taste to them – my sister from another mister picked them up from the M&Ms store in NYC. Werd. There are probably many more that I have tried too, but when they didn’t work for me, they were gone burgers fairly quickly.

Designer fashion – a dangerous liaison.

January 9, 2013January 9, 2013 / Lisa / 1 Comment

Since moving to Sydney I have begun noticing a bit more of designer fashion. It’s kind of hard not to when it is so prominent in the city.

Also when just around the corner from my apartment there is Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel…. you get the picture.

I’m not really in it for the clothes, but I’m totally falling in love with sunglasses, handbags, scarves, jewelry, make-up – the accessories of designer fashion.

Now I haven’t indulged very much. Obviously because of the price tag that usually comes with designer fashion (cue Jessie J Price Tag getting stuck in your head).

But obviously, I have indulged a little.

I bought these totally awesome Coach sunglasses with the help of my dear friend OZSale. (You can get some amazing stuff for more than 50% off retail prices.)

You might also notice the super sparkly clutch that I have them perched on. No, this is not designer, however I have been coveting many a sparkly clutch by various designer brands for awhile. At least this one was an extremely cheap price and you can’t tell what brand it is!

I have namely been coveting this Kardashian Kollection clutch. Yes, everyone groan at Kardashian, but I find it awesome.

Now I don’t need to spend the $60 odd dollars I was going to pay for it, because I found a similar cheaper version. Win!

Speaking of Kardasian Kollection, I actually really like some of their stuff currently.

I did in fact buy this Kardasian bag, but in black:

Unfortunately one day the body strap broke. I was gutted! So I had to go and return it. Sad panda 😦 I still really love this bag and I wish I could find it again to buy another. I stupidly exchanged it instead of getting one that wasn’t broken. Then the replacement bag has ended up putting holes in my clothes because of buckles on both sides that do nothing. *sigh*

I also like this bag:

I have also been looking at Hermes scarves. I don’t think I would ever spend that much on a scarf, but they’re nice to look at.

I might be developing a slight obsession with Coach. I think I will have to save up and buy one of the awesome coloured bags they have currently. Look at ALL THE COLOURS.

And last, but not least, Tiffany’s. I just want to buy a necklace so I can have the blue box.

Now if only I could manage to get Man Piece to buy me something…

All along I believed I would find you.

March 31, 2012March 31, 2012 / Lisa

As you all know, Man Piece and I are engaged. We haven’t set a date or even started to make some of the hard decisions about it, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t start to plan and look for ideas!

At the beginning, when I found something I liked, I would download the photo and save it on my computer. I have an entire folder called “Wedding Stuff”. However, I then found Pinterest.

OMG, I AM IN LOVE.

Now, I know there has been some controversy around Pinterest and whether you actually are devoid of any legal ramifications around pinning other people’s photos. This is kind of worrying when it clearly states in Pinterest’s terms and conditions that it will not be held accountable and you have to pay its legal fees! WTF?!

I have digressed…

That aside, until a case actually comes forth around that, I will continue using it because it has made looking for ideas for the wedding, and keeping track of them, so much easier.

And besides, if you don’t want people reproducing what you put on the internet, don’t do it, it’s as simple as that. I know anything I put on this blog, photos included, can be reproduced anytime, anywhere, by anyone.

But back to the wedding planning.

Pinterest has been amazing and if you want to see ideas of what I am thinking for mine and Man Piece’s big day you can have a look at my Wedding Stuff board.

I also have an appointment with my dress maker when I am at home next weekend. EXCITE. Even though it is way early and we haven’t set a date yet, she is a family friend of sorts now – we’ve know her for years. There was no one else that I could imagine getting my dress from.

As she is a family friend, she wanted to meet with me before Queen’s Birthday weekend as she is going to Singapore fabric shopping then. That’s supposedly where all the good wedding material comes from.

Maybe after the first appointment, Man Piece and I will be able to sit down and set a date.

I have also begun exploring less technological means of looking for ideas. I bought my first wedding magazine a few weeks ago:

I’ve also being and perused dresses at Astra Bridal. This one was my favourite:

But the one dress that I cannot get out of my head is a Disney Bridal dress:

It is absolutely gorgeous.

[Title is lyrics from Christina Perri’s ‘A Thousand Years’, which I have stuck in my head all week.]

Oscars: What were people thinking?

February 28, 2012 / Lisa / 1 Comment

The Oscars were yesterday and all I can say about the dresses was, What were people thinking? Talk about bland, uninspiring, or gross. I struggled to find any that I liked, or thought something could be better about them.

Shall we start with the worst dressed?

Worst Dressed:

Emma Stone: She went from best dressed to worst in a matter of weeks. The bow is just awful.

Kate Beckinsale: The patterns, the cut-outs, the added extra frilly bits. Just no.

January Jones: Who knows what the designer was thinking with this dress.

Rosario Dawson: I can be a fan of block colours, when they are done right. This is not one of those times.

Sofia Getty: Who said a jumpsuit would be a good idea? Jumpsuits are never a good idea unless you are under the age of five.

Shailene Woodley: Are you trying to be a nun? No, just no.

Gwen Stefani: Usually Gwen has some good taste, but this is just wrong. It looks like a prickle bush. Although it might look alright if it was sleeveless and strapless and had a heart neckline. So yeah, get rid of the arms and chest bits.

Mena Suvari: Did you want to be a cloud when you grew up?

Lily Collins: I'm not sure how I feel about this dress. I think I'm coming down on the side of bad. Maybe without the sleeves it would look better.

Natalie Portman: So bland, so very, very bland. But at least it is better than that pink thing she wore to the Emmy's.

To bridge between the worst dressed and the best dressed, I would like to bring your attention to two very similar dresses to show how things can go completely wrong or look utterly fabulous.

Here is Rose Byrne.

And here is Anna Farris.

The dresses appear to be made of the same material, gorgeous, black and shinny. One is utterly gorgeous and the other looks like she is wearing a garbage bag. Can you guess which?

I’ll put you out of your misery. Anna Farris looks like she’s wearing a garbage bag.

Best Dressed:

Sarah Hyland: Simple and gorgeous.

Ellie Kemper: The colour and the sparkles are amazing. The cut is simple and elegant.

Kelly Osborne: She's starting to do things right. This dress is lovely.

Anna Paquin: I love this dress and Anna looks amazing in it.

Claire Danes: I love the colour and the fluffy, frilly skirt. I want a dress/skirt like this. She also looks amazing.

Cameron Diaz: She looks absolutely stunning in this dress. The dress is pretty amazing too.

Jessica Chastain: This dress is amazing. I love the gold on black.

I don't know who this is, but I love the dress.

Kristen Wiig: I love the frilly, floatiness of this dress, but I'm not sure about the colour. Perhaps something darker?

Wendi McCendon: I love this dress. I could possibly wear something like this to get married in.

Sandra Bullock: The reason I love this dress is the two-tone, the looseness and the detailing around the waist.

Lastly, I have to mention Angelina Jolie. Not because of the dress, but because of the leg. Just what, I don’t even…

I’m not clowning around anymore.

February 26, 2012 / Lisa / 2 Comments

I’ve been struggling lately to find shoes that actually fit.

Since moving to Auckland my feet seem to be in a constant swollen state and a lot of my shoes I now struggle to even get on.

Some of them probably were a bit small when I got them, but I sometimes don’t have a choice. I have clown feet and I hate it.

Would you wear these?

In order for shoes to fit me, I need at least an 11, if not a 12. Sometimes I can get away with a 10, but they do bad things to my feet and when my feet are swollen, there is no way I can even get in to a 10.

Having been a student, then unemployed, and now one of those lowly paid journalists, I have always relied upon Number 1 Shoes to provide me with cheap shoes that I could get in an 11, usually.

Now every time I go in there, I can never find an 11. Nowhere in sight. Even Hannahs only really stocks up to a 10/11.

I tried on a pair of really cool ballet flats in Hannahs yesterday. They were purple with a black buckle across the toe. They were awesome. The shop assistant brought me an 11. I put it on, and even though I could get it on, I knew it was going to cause me problems if I bought it. My toes were at the end and I could already feel it rubbing on my big toe. So I didn’t buy them. If they had have been in a 12, I might have.

I’ve also been into Overland and Mi Piaci with no luck. One of the sales assistants said to try Nine West. I looked, I loved, and I found 12s. However, I could not sign up to the American website. I managed to sign up to the Australian one, but alas, they didn’t have the shoes I loved or really any in an 11 or 12. Sad face.

I know of Willow Shoes, which I have bought from before. Or should I say, my Mother has bought for me. There is no way I can ever afford any of the shoes there unless they are heavily discounted, even then, still rather expensive.

So I ask you, internet, where can I find relatively cheap shoes in a size 11 or 12? My feet need your help, because right now, I wear nothing but jandals. And those aren’t really “business shoes” now, are they?