You've got mail

I received something very lovely in the mail this morning. I opened the door to head off to work and was excited to see a little yellow package at my feet. I posted a while ago about my search for red lipstick and was surprised to hear from Poppy King herself!

Your wish is my command! I found this blog about red (and me) and would love to give you some advice and send you some product for writing such a nice blog.

xPoppy King

I replied thanking her for posting a comment and Poppy offered some advice about wearing red lipstick...

My pleasure U-Fhern!!!I am so glad you like my products and my book....that means a lot to me! It isn’t easy following your dreams but it is worth it. I want to send you two reds that are great place to start...The key aspect to wearing red is to minimize the rest of your make up and jewelery :) when you wear it so that the red lips are the feature and it doesn’t look all “too much”.Know what I mean??Please email you address.

Love,

Poppyx

So here is what i received in the mail...that made me a very happy girl :)

I love it when products come with a little blurb. As a designer, its always nice to share with others the inspiration behind a certain piece. Like Poppy, I give each of my pieces their very own name and I particularly love the one she gave to the black pencil like gloss - "Chinatown Thriller" and FYI, the Chinese characters translate to "Lipstick Queen".

A strong lipstick, a gloss pencil sharpener followed by a pretty red glossy stick. 

I need some time to play with these reds ~ will report back soon! xo

In search for the perfect red

I am in search for a good red lipstick. I have no idea what I want...

Glossy or matte?

Glittery or sheer?

Heavy or light?

I just know I want something red.

Even my colour palette for blogging has this variety of red red red red (ahh..decisions decisions)

Lipstick Queen - Poppy King

Some people carry it off well while some look aged wearing the wrong red. Last year I read a book called "Lessons of a Lipstick Queen" by Poppy King. At the age of eighteen, she was in search of the ideal matte red lipstick which ended in a multi-dollar business. The candid account of her personal journey was a good read as I was in the midst of setting up U-Fhern.com.

So maybe I'll look at the range of products Poppy has created...if only she was manning the stores so I could ask for an opinion.

Come White May

We've only just begun the month of May and winter seems like it's well settled in! As we hit snooze on the alarm that rings it's head off every morning telling us its time to get to work, yet again, it is less than pleasant outdoors. Three degree mornings are not cool and with the slopes already open to the public, there is no doubt winter has arrived...rather early and rather unexpected might I add.

I grew up in the tropics so whenever I hear "winter", I think of snow and white Christmas' (preferably around Rockefeller)...

I hope to have my first white Christmas here *fingers crossed*...

Unfortunately (or maybe not so unfortunately), Melbourne doesn't cater for white Christmas' or snow in the city ~ can you imagine what state we'd be in covered in snow if we can't even handle a bit of thunder and lightning?

Anyway, on the topic of white, I have started using more frequently two rather white things from my makeup stash:

Mineral powder for the face

A friend introduced me to using face powder to stop anything dry you put on top of something wet from sliding off (i.e: powdered blush on top of liquid foundation). So while I was in Italy last year, I raided the options available at Sephora (it's a makeup girl's heaven in there I tell you!) and I found this...

I started using it because I always get excited at a new purchase but then it slowly made it's way to the back of my drawer as I didn't feel like it was doing very much. I pulled it out the other day as I was cleaning and thought I'd give the pure looking container of white powder another try. I'm still not sure if it keeps blush intact, but I have realised it keeps my face oil-free even after a working day! So instead of dusting it just on my cheeks, I dust it all over my face (not too much though as that makes me look slightly ghostly...not a good look for work I don't think).

White Nail Pencil

My second white find is a white nail pencil. Recession has kicked in and that means manicure appointments are no longer part of my routine. It's all down to self treatments from here! 

This cheap and simple tool has been used since the 1800s to easily create a French manicure. Its quick, easy and neat! Just colour the underside of your nail with the pencil and you'll have pretty looking nails in no time!

Counting Sheep...

Is the financial meltdown causing you sleepless nights? Here are a few tips that can really turn your sleep into a beauty one and you definitely won't be counting sheep to sleep:

The beautiful Audrey Hepburn. 

I love her movies...and I can watch them over and over again. The Devil Wears Prada, believed to be loosely based on Vogue editor Anna Wintour, is rather reminiscent of Funny Face. While we'd would love to wake up to Breakfast at Tiffany's, the closest most of us can get to Hepburn's routine, is having a good night's rest!

Lights out

Too much light can stop the build-up of sleep hormones so shut the curtains tight or grab an eye mask when its time to hit the sack. On the other hand, when its time to rise and shine, soaking in some sunlight will assist the process...no wonder yogis do sun salutations.

Bath Time

Have a warm relaxing bath before bed and massage in a nice rich soothing moisturiser. You'll smell lovely and your skin will feel lovely in the morning.

Couch Potato

Find yourself slumped at the couch after a long day at work? Add a few drops of relaxing essential oil to the cushions to help calm you down.

Pillow Talk

Spritz some essential oils (try lavender or ylang-ylang) onto your pillow case. It will ease you into your sleep.

Warm Cuppa

Have a caffeine-free herbal tea to relax your mind before bed.

Sweet dreams! xo

Food For Thought

Shop On Fridays

Instead of pub crawling for after work drinks, try scheduling in your supermarket shopping instead. An audit of supermarkets suggests that you can cut 20% of your weekly food bill by shopping on Fridays.

Shop Local

Groceries do a whole lot of traveling before arriving in your shopping trolley. Source food at farmers' markets so you do your bit for the environment and save on transportation costs.

Shop At The Deli

Instead of buying packaged meat, cheese and olives from the supermarket, go to deli to avoid all the extra packaging. It works out cheaper and you only buy exactly how much you need.

Take baby steps

Try make a difference one step at a time. For example, try buying products with less packaging. When buying coffee, bring a mug with you. If you forget just ask them to forget about the plastic lid.

Take your own bag

I leave the green bags near the door so I don't forget when I'm on the way out to the shops. I find that they are easier to carry compared to plastic bags when the load gets heavy, so why not kill two birds with one stone?

Thrifty Thursday

While Friday is the day to shop for groceries, Thursday is the day for fashion buys. Thursday evening 6-8 weeks after an item arrives in store is when prices start dropping. Late night shopping was just meant to be!

Beauty Bargains

Ask your beauty therapist or hairdresser where they buy their products. They just might know a wholesaler who sells to the general public. No harm asking!

Tips to make your beauty regimen go further

Picture from Vogue, UK

• Before throwing out an old stick of mascara, clean the wand with eye make-up remover and wash it in soap. Use the clean want to comb through lashes while they are wet for the best last separator
• When using a deep-cleansing mask, firstly dampen your face with lukewarm water. Cold water will close the pores and prevents the mask from penetrating into the skin.
• Lipstick can emphasize chapped lips. To get them silky smooth, apply some lip balm to your pout before your makeup routine. Once you’re done, tissue off the remaining balm and apply your lipstick. Viola!
• Make-up artists like the cream and powder blush combination. Laura Mercier swears the formula gives the rosy tint a longer lasting effect.
• Instead piling on the makeup remover to get rid of panda-like eyes after a drunken night out, just soak up a piece of cotton pad and hold it over your lids for ten seconds and let the remover dissolve the girt before wiping them clean.

A vintage Chinese beauty advertisement

~ I think it's interesting how ladies back in the day were also consumed with looking pretty. I remember when I was young, my grandma would start the day by dissolving a white pea-sized thing that would turn into face powder. Intrigued by the pot of peas, I took a handful of them, mixed them with water and slapped the mixture all over my face. Unfortunately, I turned out looking rather ghostly. Having said that, beauty routines are best kept simple and natural (this is also a cheaper alternative compared to buying bottled goodies from beauty stores). I'll soon be posting a few tips about how you can incorporate things you can find in any pantry into your beauty regimen...so check back soon!~