If you’d have enquired about my thoughts on velvet two weeks ago, I would’ve been completely indifferent. The only velvet associations I had are red stage drapes from my ballet days and a faded love seat that a friend had in her bedroom. Not exactly the stuff dreams are made of! But Pinterest is a magical place! Continue reading
Woohoo it is time to start shopping for all your loved ones! I love the process of searching, buying, gift wrapping and then finally giving someone their gift. Although my biggest weekness is keeping quiet once I’ve bought something! I hope that my gift recommendations might spark an idea and help you find that perfect something for someone else, or yourself. Because who said you can’t buy something from Santa to you?
I’m not trying to be pretentious, but I wanted to preface my gift guide with this disclaimer. Just because most of the items on the list are expensive, does not mean that these gifts are more desirable or valued. Gift guides should serve as inspiration and often cheaper alternatives are not available online, so please take each suggestion with a pinch of salt but also know that each gift I’ve chosen to feature has been carefully selected.
For me a personal gift means so much more than just rushing out to buy the latest fragrance! Don’t get me wrong, a favourite fragrance or one that you think someone will love is a great gift, it just isn’t the only great gift out there. A lot can be said for thought and presentation. For me the process of selecting the perfect gift for someone begins long before my first trip to the shops. Paying attention to obvious hints and also observing and noticing things that could simplify or make their lives more enjoyable.
Intention can also make a basic gift incredibly meaningful. Expressing your wishes for friends to enjoy a delicious truffle fillet at your favourite steakhouse when gifting them a meal voucher or explaining why you chose to gift someone plain white plates (when they had previously complained to you about their patterned ones) makes all the difference.
Finally and least important (but still making the cut), presentation! Nothing excites me as much as a beautifully wrapped present! If someone took the time to make their gift’s exterior appealing it always makes me incredibly excited about what is inside.
I’m so excited that I’ve already bought about half of my Christmas gifts and am still scouting the other half.
I love celebrating Christmas in South Africa. Our holidays are not traditional in the sense that we usually celebrate them on the beach or by a pool, so I thought something simple and refreshing is in order. I also wanted to find a drink that would taste equally good with and sans alcohol as we have very strict (and needed) laws regarding driving under the influence. A bonus is that it is really quick and easy to throw together!
All you need is:
Steps:
Easy peasy, just the way I like it. You could replace the vodka and rose syrup with more cranberry juice if so desired, but they really elevate it.
P.S. If you like the coasters, please check back next week for a quick DIY!
The festive season is such an easy time to go overboard with your beauty look, and if you want to you certainly should! But over the years I’ve often found myself feeling slightly OTT. Family dinners, braais with friends or a board games evening rarely justify a perfect red pout and golden eyes. This time around I feel less certainly is more.
I love my LA Girl The Nudes palette as all the colours are right up my street. I rarely go for the extreme eye looks preferring to use one or two shades at a time. This time around I just blended the golden shimmer close to my lashes, loaded up on tonnes of mascara and added a little bit of festive colour to my pout with a Revlon Super lustrious lipgloss.
Nails is where I go all out. I love the Essence Gel Nailpolish in Nr 14 Do you speak love? It is a lovely vampy red, probably not summer appropriate but I love it anyways! I then covered it in one layer of Wet n Wild’s Waiting for my solo. It is a warm golden-coppery glitter that has both small and chunky pieces. I applied this combo in the car a week ago for my husband’s year end work function and although it wasn’t perfect it lasted a whole week with minimal tip wear! I was so impressed that I repeated the look today. 
What is your go-to beauty look for Christmas parties? Do you go all out or prefer a more relaxed approach?
I keep an imaginary list in my head of all the clothing items that I dread shopping for (bra’s and jeans spring to mind), but I think bikini shopping should also have a special place in hell. Trying to find a bikini top that fits properly (never mind suits my budget!) is nearly impossible. The truth is that if you don’t fit into the first three letters of the alphabet, you’re gonna have a hard time!
On the rare occasions that bikini manufacturers actually “get” it and create bikini tops according to cup and torso sizes, they often make one of the following two mistakes: either they only make A, B and C-cup sizes or they create a push-up bikini top. If I’d wanted to look like I’m about to explode, I’d have just gone one size too small!
Apologies for the rant, but if you happen to have a similar problem I think I found something that might work for you as well! This tube top isn’t something I’d usually try but I was getting desperate, thinking it couldn’t look worse than some of the other items I’d tried. The padded sweetheart shape is flattering and covers enough so there is no risk of #freeingthenipple (a movement I do not support!). The frill keeps it from looking too frumpy by adding a dose of cute. It is comfortable, stays in place and doesn’t require me being strapped in.
Did I mention that it is white? What!? I need at least one thing to be paler than me on the beach! This was a total steal from Jet stores, but similar styles can be found at Woolworths.
Now I finally have a bikini I can swim in without having to do tripple checks before leaving the water. Summer here I come!
In the first post of my Christmas series-thingy, I’ll be showing you how I made these pinecone decorations. It is so easy, I probably shouldn’t even call it a tutorial, but that is my forte! I’ll show you how I did it just incase you were wondering!
Considering how quick and easy it was, I am really impressed by how good it looks. It also happened to be the perfect addition to my all gold Christmas tree.
Instead of using hot glue, which I just find terribly unreliable as the one minute it sits and the next you might as well have never used it, I decided to use a thread and needle. All the pinecones I found still had a piece of wood protruding from the top which attached it to the tree, so I decided to use that to fix my ribbon to.
I cut 30 cm of ribbon for each pinecone and sealed the ends with a candle. Then I folded each piece in half, and tied it to make the top loop about 5 cm long. After that I made bows over the original knot making sure to twist and turn the ribbon for perfect bows. The final step was to tie the ribbon to the pinecones with a thread and needle. I simply wrapped my thread around the aforementioned stick at the top and then threaded it through the ribbon.
November marks the start of my favourite season with the festivities usually starting early in my home! The first usually kicks off some Christmas tree decor. This is my first Christmas since moving out of my parents home, so I am finally starting my own Christmas decor collection. It is growing slowly but surely!
Ryno and I have four different garden roses planted in our backyard (one didn’t make it) and they are finally blooming at the same time. It really does look magical and I love the scents from the roses and herbs when working in the garden. Sometimes I even imagine that it is what it must be like to be a nose for a fragrance house – not that I’d ever know! This summer is marked to be the hottest one in a while, so I plan on taking plenty of picnics (probably not dressed like a lady) in nearby parks. Continue reading
On a rare sunny day a few weeks ago, Ryno and I decided to head to the beautiful town of Franschhoek. This was before summer arrived and we were both keen to spend some time relaxing outdoors. So picnic basket packed (ready to be filled there) and books in hand we undertook the 40 minute drive to wine country.
Franschhoek is famous for their wine, but being the sweettooth that I am I can’t visit without a stop at Huguenot Fine Chocolates. Their store is located on the main streat and they give tours showing how they make chocolate on most days. I always find some exciting new flavours to try, but when in doubt their Strawberry Cream and Cherry Kirsch never disappoints. Along with some chocolates we also picked up some buttery croissants and parma ham for lunch before we headed to the Huguenot Monument gardens for some lounging. Continue reading
If you’re a fan of Vivianna Does Makeup you’ve likely heard her bleating on about her favourite lacquer, Porchester Square by Nails Inc. Of course I’ve Googled the shade a million times and developed a serious crush on it! I might be wrong but I think Edgars no longer stocks the brand as I haven’t been able to find it anywhere. My search for the perfect greige nailpolish finally ended when I stumbled upon this bargain from Essence.
Their Nude Trends collection includes a number of delectable shades, but Crunchy Cake (weird name, I’ll chalk it up to a bad German translation!?) one instantly drew my attention. The colour is best described as a greigy-lilac and is the perfect year-round colour (it looks darker in the picture). It also happens to be the best dupe for the afforementioned shade that I’ve come across. Continue reading
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