Toiletries & Makeup Packing List


We depart for our holiday in less than a week! First off, I'm publishing my toiletries and makeup packing list.  Of course these packing lists will be different for everyone, depending on what products one uses, but they are a good start.

Back in 2012 when I holidayed in the United States, I only packed sample sizes or almost finished cosmetics.  This turned out to be a great idea given that within 24 hours of our plane landing I found myself in Sephora hemorrhaging money.

Our first stop on our Europe itinerary is Nice, France, and well, I can almost hear the French pharmacies calling my name in the distance...  I will be packing very lightly in the skincare department, knowing that I will certainly buy a few new products in France.

Toiletries Packing List  
  • Deodorant
  • Toothpaste
  • Toothbrush
  • Floss
  • Dry shampoo (travel sized)
  • Cleansing Oil/Makeup Remover (deluxe sized sample from Biotherm)
  • Exfoliating Cleanser (deluxe sized sample from Biotherm)
  • Facial Oil (remainder of my Kosmea Organic Rose Hip Oil) 
  • Moisturiser (a small deluxe sized sample from Clinique)
  • Eye Cream (a tiny sample tube from Caudalie)
  • Body wash (deluxe sized sample) 
  • Fragrance (a couple of sample vials)
  • Shampoo and conditioner (sample sachets)
  • Comb
  • Hair ties
  • A few bobby pins
  • Tweezers
  • Nail clippers

When it comes to makeup, I plan to play it safe and pack the items I use on daily basis here at home.

I'm packing my every day favourite cosmetics



Makeup Packing List

Foundation and tinted moisturiser.  A small sample tube of tinted moisturiser and my current foundation (Bourjois Healthy Mix).

Concealer.  I can't live without my Ellis Fass concealer...

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder palette.  This is one of my favourite recent purchases.  I have fair skin, so the powders in this palette work for me as a setting powder, highlighter and bronzer.

Blush.  A small travel compact of a pinky neutral Tarte powder.

Eyeshadow.  I'm taking my Clinque Chubby Stick in 'Ample Ambre' (a favourite), my NARS shadow pencil in 'Skorpios' and Laura Mercier Caviar Eye Sticks in 'Amethyst' and 'Sugar Frost'.  These four colours will create a lot of looks and the products require no brushes for application.

Mascara.  A deluxe sized sample tube.

NARS lipstick.  My favourite YLBB shade for day ('Dolce Vita').

MAC lipstick. My favourite bright shade for night or day ('Vegas Volt').

I am packing the bare minimum make-up brushes with me - just the MAC 187 duo fibre brush which I use for powder and a Tarte blush brush.

I'm planning our European holiday... really quickly

In less than two weeks my boyfriend and I will be relaxing somewhere in Europe...


We have been planning (read: talking about) this holiday for many months. We got to a point in mid January that nothing was booked so I called our travel agent to make it happen. Now all of a sudden, it's happening. We leave in a matter of days and and I'm starting to get nightmares about:

1. My boss telling me at some stage prior that I can't take the time off work anymore
2. Forgetting to pack something really important
3. Forgetting to pack altogether
4. Misplacing my passport somewhere in the house
5. Being stuck in traffic on the way to the airport
6. Missing the plane altogether

What can I say, I'm a worrier...

I hope that none of the above mentioned travel disasters occur and that instead I finally get to try Pierre Hermé macarons.  Back in 2012 I tried Ladurée's offerings in New York and was left a little bit disappointed. Pierre Hermé macs better blow my mind!

Ladurée NYC - March 2012
Of course I'm hoping to do the obligatory 'what's in my cabin bag' and 'packing list' posts (because it's excellent blog fodder if anything).  Some may say that lists like this are anal retentive, but let me tell you that back in 2012 when I came down with gastro/food poisoning (whatever that was) days before we were set to depart for the US, the lists saved me a lot of worry. They allowed me to literally pack in 10 minutes flat - which was all the time away from the bathroom that I could muster.

So now to get through the next fortnight of work without tearing out our hair and/or working until 10pm in the days leading up to our departure.  I also need to get around to booking the rest of our accommodation and internal train travel - yes we are this unorganised!
Map sourced from: www.worldatlas.com

Country Road Autumn 2014 Purchases

In the same vein that I secretly wish for my wardrobe to spontaneously combust (so that I could buy all new stuff guilt free), I secretly wish for my kitchen cupboards to collapse from the weight of my mismatched crockery.  If this unfortunate event had occurred last week, I probably would have used my Country Road Spend and Save vouchers on some new tableware - so many pretty plates, dishes, bowls and platters!  Needless to say my kitchen cupboards are safely intact, and although my wardrobe did not burn down either, new clothes have been purchased.



As per usual, I spent an entire lunch break trying on all the new stock in the store.



I ended up with these pieces after much deliberation:


Print Fluid Dress - Although I have decided to stick to a palette of neutrals this year, this red dress is super flattering on me and suits my colouring perfectly.  I should point out that this dress is comprised out of polyester, meaning that I'll need to wait until the weather cools before I can wear it.  I've been told by Country Road sales assistants that Country Road is using more polyester to keep their price points down, but I would honestly rather pay $50 more for viscose - at least viscose breathes.



Quilted Bodice Dress - I have a couple of events coming up and I think this dress will be easy to dress up with some jewels when worn strapless. I especially like the soft silk/cotton voile fabric - so light and airy.



Texture Print Pant - Apparently these printed cotton pants are selling like hotcakes.  After trying them on, I can see why... they are cut beautifully and I especially like the narrow leg and slightly cropped length.  Of course I wish they came in plain black also.


Crew Neck Stripe T-Shirt - Ignoring the fact that it is a striped top and that I already own close to a million striped tops, I bought this one because the neckline is nicely scooped and it is loose through the body but not sloppy.  It looks very 'cool' on. I can't wait to wear it with skinny jeans and ankle boots.

What do you think of Country Road's new Autumn collection? Have you bought anything?


Hello again...

I have decided to resurect this blog and although it is now apparent to me that I may be culling my wardrobe for the rest of my life (ho-hum), I'm not sure that it's the only topic that I want to be writing about.

So, what other things will I write about?

Quick and healthy mid-week meals

I work in a corporate environment and attend young professional networking functions here and there (even though I'm not so young anymore). One of the constant topics that comes up when I "network" is food and how no one has time to cook. Rubbish I say! I hope to publish some of the quicker recipes I enjoy making mid-week... No excuses!

Our renovations

We have been in our home for just over a year now.  Slowly we have figured out what we don't like about our place and the changes that we would like to implement.

During my blogging hiatus we had ducted heating and cooling installed (bliss) and also put up a motorised retractable awning in the backyard (we did not want any permanent structures blocking out any glorious Winter sunlight). Although both of these projects have been exciting for us, they do not make for riveting blogging content. The next projects on the agenda, however, are more visually stimulating! We are just beginning to plan an en suite to our master bedroom (STCC) and also a new kitchen.

I hope to share my renovation  ideas on this blog, as well as to get input from fellow renovators who may stumble across these words.

Decorating

The amount of small home projects I have piling up is getting to be embarrassing. I won't list them all here (because then I will feel accountable to you all) but I'll try to blog about these projects as I complete them. At the moment I am building up the motivation to repaint the mantle and fireplace in our formal lounge room.

Minimalism

This topic continues to fascinate me, but because I have now admitted to myself that I have a genetic predisposition to hoarding, I may never be able to call myself a 'minimalist'.  Anyhow, I'm really keen to at least get rid of the unnecessary stuff in my life and also to organise everything in our home.

And I will continue where I left off...

Regardless of the progress I have made with my attitude towards shopping (with mammoth hiccups occurring spasmodically), for me the culling process has been fraught with frustration.  I don't think it makes for good or helpful reading when every other post is about a new culling methodology that I have implemented because the old one hasn't worked for me. Nevertheless, because I like fashion and I enjoy this endless quest for the ideal wardrobe (in a very sick and twisted way), this blog will continue to serve as a portrayal of the battles (some) women (me) have with the contents of their (my) wardrobe.

Thanks for reading and looking forward to your comments.

My wardrobe culling... The entire contents of my wardrobe 2 years on.

Last month we decided to climb into the roof space of our house to snoop around for the first time since buying our place. We found no forgotten treasures... or dead bodies... thank goodness.

I imagine that you are wondering how any of this is relevant to wardrobe culling?  Well, the manhole to the roof space is directly over our wardrobe.  The entire wardrobe had to be emptied so that we could move it across the floor to access the manhole.  It was much too heavy to move otherwise, and that's saying something.

While we were at it, we re-modeled the whole room, so I emptied all my other cupboards thinking I would organise everything once and for all.  I assembled everything in the lounge room in no particular order on my clothing racks and I took a picture. 

This is NOT what I saw though the lens:

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Rather this is what stood before me:


Disappointing huh? And this doesn't even include the stuff I bought recently, thanks to Country Road's oxymoronic spend and save event!

It's been just over two years since I first began culling my wardrobe and creating what I like to refer to as my 'ideal wardrobe'.  My mission was to create the perfect capsule wardrobe, for work and for play, with most items interchangeable between the two occasions. I had initially hoped that this would occur within 6 months... but I can safely say that 2 years on, I'm not quite there yet.  Who am I kidding?  I have failed.

I have read many other bloggers' blog entries who have culled their wardrobes, all about their culling successes.  I longingly look at their racks scarcely filled with a few select 'pieces' and their couple pairs of ankle booties lined up underneath... what seems to be the perfect capsule wardrobe.  I feel envious reading about excess spare coat hangers and empty space in their wardrobes. I suppose at least this envy for minimalism is not as revolting as being jealous of other people's physical possessions, right?

I guess it's back to the drawing board for me...

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