Staggered Springtime culling

So it's Springtime here in Australia, and my wardrobe is in desperate need of a Spring clean.  I would love to stage another all out assault on my clothing, shoe and accessory collection like I did earlier in the year, but for the time being while my weekends are mostly spent out on the road searching for the perfect house, I will be staggering my culling.

This week I am waving goodbye to a Country Road dress - Lord only knows why I opted for the khaki colourway instead of the grey, two pairs of gorgeous flat boots which although I love the look of, I just don't wear, a Country Road shirt and drapey skirt that taunt me "you are fat" and an ACNE blouse which would look better on me if I was 10 years younger.

All of these pieces are for sale on my eBay page along with a few other goodies culled by my Mum and Aunt.

In search of miracle potions

I don't know about you, but I find that no matter how put together my outfit looks - if my face is not glowing I feel very average indeed.

Lately I have found myself obsessing about my face (vain, I know). I have general concerns about uneven tone, dryness, redness and achieving flawlessness but my particular concerns are as follows:

1. A spring chicken I am not.  I'm starting to see the first signs of ageing having found myself on the wrong side of 30 some time ago now.  The lines appearing around my eyes sadden me.  It's really happening - I am getting old :(
2. I have deep-set eyes that are a little close together. Let's just say that I do not look to Kate Moss for eye makeup inspiration. Further all this talk about contouring creases is completely irrelevant to me unless I'm doing a Halloween makeup look.
3. Dark circles are my nemesis. More so than just the average shadowing caused by the fact that my eyes are deep-set and that I don't sleep enough.  My Mother recently commented on a photograph of me that I looked sick around the eyes...
4. Extreme cheek and nose dryness has plagued me this Winter. My skin has been very flaky. Appropriate moisturisers are one thing but smooth application of BB creams and foundations are a whole new kettle of fish.
5. "Allergy" is my middle name.  Red raw dermatitis on my eyelids and lips occasionally flares up.  I have a prescription cream of course, but I don't like using it as it causes thinning of the skin. I also suffer from hay fever which gives me the I-cried-all-day look all spring long.

Recently, I have spent many hours watching beauty youtubers and reading consumer reviews about creams & potions, primers, foundations, concealers, BB creams and tinted moisturizers. I'm in search of products which will hopefully become my HG (holy grail) products to plump up my skin and products to create a flawless base.  Of course reading reviews only goes so far, as one can only know if a product will work for them by trying it for themselves. I'm very keen to try Clinique's Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector and Mario Badescu's Control Cream.

Do you have any issues which you strive to fix with miracle potions?

Have you seen results upon using a product regularly?

Are you interested to read about bloggers' beauty routines and their HG products (I know I am).

The Cull Diary - Winter summarised

I've lost count of what I've culled and what I've bought since I returned from my US holiday in after Easter, so this post is an attempt to summarise my wardrobe goings on for the past few of months. After I'm done with this post I will recommence normal programming and restart documenting my wardrobe journey. I must admit I have lost my way a little. I guess you could even go as far as to say that I have been a little bit schizophrenic when it comes to my wardrobe culling and shopping lately... hearing voices and stuff:  

"K, you don't NEED to buy that!"
"K, why haven't you worn this dress you bought in the US yet?"
"K, don't go for one of your lunchtime 'walks' you know it will only result in spending your money."
"K, yes it's a bargain, but do you really NEED all three colours?"
"K, you should really get off your butt and re-cull your shoe collection."
"K, your eBay items are not going to photograph themselves..." 

I could go on and on.

Apart from the bow belts and tweed peplum skirt (which I wrote about this post), I also bought enough to fill half a wardrobe from Cue during their sales including a few items for this coming Summer.  So in short my wardrobe is full again!

My wardrobe DOES NOT look like this anymore :(

As per my 'one in one out' culling strategy this year, to make room for these new additions I have culled the following items:

• WITCHERY snakeskin pumps... too high;
• TONY BIANCO wedge booties... not worn these since I bought my ACNE pistols;
• MOLLINI button detail booties... not worn a long time;
• CUE:DION LEE slit sleeve blazer... it's impeccably cut, but the sleeve slits were just too weird for me;
• COUNTRY ROAD black silk dress... it tore;
• COUNTRY ROAD animal print silk dress... it tore;
• WITCHERY animal print dress... not cut right for my bootylicious booty;
• GORMAN grey dress... I tried to wear it again after it went AWOL for a couple of years, but I changed into something else each time as it was not quite right anymore;
• GORMAN black dress...same dress as above but in black - so ditto;
• ZAYT black cigarette pants... great fit but to think that I will ever fit into them is a pipe dream; and
• CUE black bow detail skirt... it didn't make me feel great anymore when I wore it.

Looking at this very short list I'm not certain whether I managed to strictly adhere to my 'one in one out' rule (because as I said my wardrobe is FULL again).

My original idea was to blog about each new item I bought and the resulting cull item at the same time, but LIFE got in the way of that as much as I enjoy keeping this blog.  When I say LIFE I mainly mean house hunting over the weekends (that's EVERY weekend - agh!).  Also my boyfriend and I are now experts at losing auctions ... let me know if you need any tips.

Makeup organisation and my new makeshift vanity table

So we finally bought a stylish new desk for the study nook (pictures to come once we find a stylish new chair).  I was relieved that we could finally get rid of the cheap and ugly hand me down desk that my boyfriend has been using for years.

I was so happy about getting rid of it, that I even considered taking to this old desk with a sledge hammer to release my pent-up emotions about "stuff", but then I had an Oprah light bulb moment and I thought to myself I going to make a makeshift vanity table!

The results:

Not surprisingly the ugly desk looks a whole lot prettier (just) with a mirror and pretty girly things on top, also note the kitchy vintage glass for brush storage. Anyways this desk is in the spare room so the door can be shut at any time to hide it away.

Why the spare room? Well I usually get up before my boyfriend each morning and I would either need to turn on the lights or open the blinds to do my makeup - neither are especially nice things to be doing to someone who is trying to get a bit more sleep.  As a result I have been applying my make-up in the bathroom.  I have noticed however that over the course of each week the products slowly build up on the bathroom vanity which is not a large space by any stretch of the imagination (it's actually a very small space).  By the end of the week it looks damn messy to put it bluntly.  I find also that the majority of my makeup is neglected as I tend to use what has made it into the bathroom for the week (usually the same things that made it to the bathroom as the last week).

Enter the spare room.  Open the blinds in the morning and this room is bathed in natural light - perfect for putting on makeup.  Plus now that I have this 'pretty' vanity table, I have all the makeup that I own at my disposal which hopefully means that I will use it all and not neglect certain products.

What's that cool clear container that I see on top there? I hear you ask... well it's the KEJI 5 Drawer Desktop File in clear from Officeworks.  It was only $16.99!

The organiser also comes in a 4 drawer version where the bottom draw is twice the depth of the top three draws.  For the record, the depth of each draw of the 5 drawer unit perfectly houses eye shadows, palettes and tubes of stuff. Foundations can also be stored in there if you don't mind placing them horizontally.  Items that will not fit into the drawers of the 5 drawer unit are products such as moisturiser jars and powder jars, hence why my MUFE HD powder is sitting on the silver platter.

Yes, I know this Keji box not as cool as Kim Kardashian's makeup storage drawer set, but this will have to do whilst I wait to have my own custom designed box made up...

It's Oxymoron Time! (Time for Country Road's "spend and save")

It’s that time again: Country Road Spend and Save time!

I always try to take advantage of the offer because I have long loved Country Road and I want to maintain my loyalty status - plus I'm always after something new for work.  

I'm hearing and reading online that people are loving this new season collection, but truth be told, I have found it quite challenging to really like anything in store to say the least.  The cuts are not flattering and I guess acid pastels aren't really my thing...  

I spent 3 lunch breaks last week to progressively try on every item in the store to maybe change my mind about it - to no avail.

As always the sales assistants have tried their big sell on me: "but you can tie it back with the neutral pieces in your wardrobe".  But I’m my own person when it comes to shopping and what I wear – you cannot convince me to be otherwise. 

Furthermore nothing really seems worthy of my hard earned money.  Two of the dresses that I tried on (including the one on the far left in the image above) and considered buying were comprised from polyester!  Country Road, if you want me to remain your loyal customer, please do not make garments comprised from inferior fabrics! 

I did buy something in the end (not new season)... a dress and matching bed linen and pillow cases... both devoid of colour, both black and white striped :)

What I spent my savings on in Country Road...