WHATS IN MY PURSE : UNIVERSITY EDITION

Today I thought I would show you what my essentials are that I need in my bag with me afor when I got to uni :)

First off by bag! This is a leather tote from a store called Country Road here in New Zealand  and Australia. It is the perfect bag for uni as it fits so much stuff in it as well as fitting my books and Laptop perfectly.

So on to the contents of the bag. I tend to always be carrying my Laptop and if not some kind or lecture note book. I always need my charger as my laptop runs out off battery in about an hour! My case is from Marc by Marc Jacobs, I love it as it has really good cushioning so i know that my laptop is properly protected.

If its a sunny day I need my glasses with me so I tend to chuck a pair in just in case. These are a Marc Jacobs pair I have had them for nearly 5 years now and the are still in great condition, and Marc Jacobs is still coming out with pairs very similar. I need to get used to chucking an umbrella in my handbag because I have to be honest it rains more here in Dunedin than its sunny.

Im a girl who carries my hairbrush everywhere! and I mean everywhere! Its like attached to me at the hip. I have naturally straight hair and sometimes it can be the biggest hassle as it always gets knotty and just doesn't look nice. My handy little Tangle Teezer fixed this dilemma. I love the Tangle Teezer as it s really good at getting through knots and its such a handy handbag size.

When it comes to the little silver pouch, that is where I like to keep my touch up tools. I tend to carry round some sort of lippy, the one in the picture is a Revlon lipbutter in Juicy Papaya. I also always carry around my Mac Kabuki, again so handy for the handbag, and my Rimmel Stay Matte powder for when ever my skin starts to look a bit greasy. I also need a lipbalm as my lips are never not dry the one picture here is the Rosebud Salve by Smiths.  I also always seem to have dry hands so I carry around a hand cream with me, this one is the LA Source hand therapy by Crabtree and Evelyn. It smells amazing! I also like to carry some perfume, this is a little travel tube of Flowerbomb by Victor and Rolf. A lovely floral scent.

I got this cute little drink bottle from a health store. Im trying to drink more water and so far this has helped, having water on me is such a good way to stay hydrated. Also if pains occur I always have some emergency pain meds just in case. I also need glasses as I'm long sighted so I struggle to read things that are up close such as books and Laptop Screen so they come with me to uni most days.

You always need to have your wallet on you, and as you can see a little trend is starting here, this is again Marc Jacob. I just love Marc Jacobs designs they are so sleek and stylish. This wallet is usually full of receipts and cards, you know the usual stuff. If my phone battery is running low which it always is! I have my little handy portable phone charger. Its so great for those long days at uni. Everyone should have one of these in their life!

When it comes to uni its not the cleanest place in the world so I like to carry around a hand sanitiser witch unfortunately I forgot to take a photo off :( but it is truly a necessity. Also I always have my Phone on me, i have an I Phone 5 in black. This is also not in the shot as I was taking the photos with it :)

Links: Buy Online

Portable Phone Charger:
http://www.noelleeming.co.nz/shop/communications/phone-accessories/lenmar-ppw24-powerport-wave-2400/prod122438.html

Hand Cream:
http://www.crabtree-evelyn.com/Las-Hand-Remedy/Las-Hand-Remedy,default,pd.html?cgid=#q=la+sourse+hand+cream&start=1

Lipbalm/ Stay Matte Powder:
www.beautyjoint.com

Revlon Lip Butter:
http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod4040047#

Wallet:
http://www.shopbop.com/classic-slim-zip-wallet-marc/vp/v=1/845524441934061.htm?folderID=2534374302024262&fm=other-shopbysize-viewall&colorId=12867

Tangle Teezer:
www.feelunique.com

Mac Kabuki:
http://www.maccosmetics.com/

Flowerbomb:
http://www.smithandcaugheys.co.nz/

I hope you enjoyed :)

Dana xx

REVLON MATTE BALMS & BALM STAINS

I know I'm a weee bit late on the bandwagon with the Matte Balms, as they come out a while ago in the States. But the Matte balms have just been released in New Zealand and I have being wanted to try these out for sooo long! I thought it would be nice to share my thoughts about them with you :) & also share my thoughts about the Balm Stains for you, that I have had for quite a while now!

I picked up twos shades of the Matte Balms in the colours #245 Audacious (Orange) and #205 Elusive Insaisissable (Pink). I would of loved to pick up more as the colour range was amazing! But unfortunately here in NZ our makeup is ridiculously expensive and these were $22.50 each, and thats for drug store makeup. To all NZ and Australia girls I highly recommend buying makeup online.

I picked these two colours as they were the two that caught my eye and I would most likely wear them the most. I did though have a swatching frenzy at the department store just to make sure I had picked the right ones, and ended up with rainbow hands!

The Matte Balms have a lovely finish and a truly great colour payoff. #245 Is a lovely slightly coraly toned pinky orange and every one know how I love my corals. #205 is a muted nude pick great for everyday wear very similar to Macs Please Me. The one thing I love about them the most is that they are not drying!!! So many Matte lipsticks I own leave my lips felling so dry. These also apply really well, and if you make a mistake its easily fixable. I need more already!

When it come to the Balm Stains I have the colours, 035 Charm Charme, and 040 Rendezvous. The Balm stains are great to wear when you are wanting a nice brush of colour to the lip but nothing to opaque. They moisturize your lips as well as adding colour, and are extremely easy to apply. Also they smell amazing nice and minty. When it comes to the light colour 035 I don't tend to wear it on its own as its just slightly to pale on me put i love putting it over different lipsticks to give different finishes. )40 Is a nice bright orange you could compare it to being the Morange of stains. When it comes to the Balm Stains I wasn't to impressed with the colour selection available and these two colours where the only one I really wanted.

When I was in the store I was also swatching the Lacquer Balms which had also an amazing colour range I can wait to get my hands on some of them!

I hope your having a great day :)

Dana xx

STATIONARY FOR THE YEAR

Hey lovelies today I wanted to show you this amazing stationary I picked up from a store called Kikki K, that I have been using throughout the year. Kikki K is an awesome store full of colourful and quirky stationary with the most beautiful designs. I am a super organized person so I'm a little addicted when it comes to stationary, especially when its so darn cute! If you are a stationary lover like me you would love Kikki K Stationary.

Everything seems to be either pastel or black and white probably due to them being some of my favourite colours! I use the stripped books for my lecture note, they are great as they just have lined paper inside. One of my favourites is my diary, this is the third year in a row I have nabbed myself of these. Every page is individually its own with different patterns and colours. At the end of every month is either gives you a little activity to do, or asks you to reflect on that month. Its a really fun idea and has quirky little things in it that you wouldnt find in a plain diary.

When I saw the black paper pad I automatically wanted it. You write on it with all the colour pastel pens. Such a neat idea. I am constantly writing list its so satisfying ticking something off you you have accomplished, even the little things. The to do list I found is really cute with lots of little fun things you can do on it like write down what your treat is for the day (mine at the moment is mini eggs for sure!)

I also like to be well organized a head of time, and this is where the monthly planner comes in real handy, and its in a pad so you can get a good 3 years use out of it, and if you make a mistake you can just start again.

Dana xx

LULU LEMON HAUL

So the other day I made a little trip to lulu lemon and ended up falling in love with most of their stuff. I wanted to buy the whole store. They have such cute exercise gear. I ended up walking out of the store with a couple of items that I wanted to show you guys. I was looking for some black and white gear, as I tend to lean towards buying really bright gear, and I needed something to balance all the colour out! Lulu Lemon gear is such great quality and it has some many great features for exercising. Also it looks great! The cuts are amazing! Also everything comes in a large range of colours and types to fit different body shapes!

Free to Be Sports Bra

This is one of the most comfortable sports bras I have ever had! Its great for activities such as yoga. It doesnt have huge support so I wouldnt recommend it to big breasted girls. But if you you have small breasts like me it looks so cute and gives you just the right amount of support you need.

http://www.lululemon.co.nz/products/clothes-accessories/women-sports-bras/Free-To-Be-Bra?cc=5442&skuId=au_3532826&catId=women-sports-bras

105 F Singlet Silver

This singlet is great as it has Silverscent technology in it that helps inhibit the growth of odour causing bacteria. A great added bonus for when you are doing high intensity exercise. Its made from a super light fabric, with makes it great for hot weather, or when you will be getting a sweat up. It also looks great over any sports bra.

http://www.lululemon.co.nz/products/clothes-accessories/women-tanks/105-F-Singlet-Silver?cc=5458&skuId=au_3534035&catId=women-tanks

Coastal Tank

This is a great lose fitting tank perfect for the gym. I love to wear it with nice bright coloured sports bra underneath. Its made from a really nice sweatproof material that makes it so comfortable to wear.

http://www.lululemon.co.nz/products/clothes-accessories/women-tanks/Coastal-Tank?cc=0001&skuId=au_3530548&catId=women-tanks

Dana xx

BRUSHES I ♥

Hey guys today I wanted to share with you some of the brushes I am currently loving, and tend to use the most! As you will learn, or you can probably tell by the picture, I love Real Techniques brushes. They are so affordable and are such great quality. I highly recommend them! I Hope you enjoy xx

Real techniques Multi Task Brush ( PInk brush standing up in first photo) 
I love using this blush for my blusher it gives a really even coverage and makes blending the blusher a breeze.

Real Techniques Buffing Brush ( Gold Brush Standing up in First Pic)
This is by far the best brush for applying liquid foundation I have ever found! It blends so well leaving you with an amazing even coverage. Love it!

MAC 182 Kabuki Brush
I love using this brush with my Pressed powder to set my foundation. It makes application so quick and easy! It also is a great brush to chuck in your handbag for when your on the go.

Sigma Large Powder F30 (Large black brush lying dow in first photo)
I use this guy for my bronzer. It has super soft bristles and applies the product really evenly, so I don't end up looking unnaturally tan.

Real Techniques Setting brush (Pink brush lying flat in first pic)
I love using this brush for my highlighter, as well as to set my concealer under my eyes. Its the perfect size!

Stila #24 Brush (Wooden brush lying flat in fist pic)
This blush is great for many uses. I particularly like to use it as a contour brush when Im wanting to do a light contour. Stila makes some amazing quality long lasting brushes.

Sigma Precision Tapered P85 ( Tapered black brush in photo 5)
I love using this brush for concealer under my eye. Due to it being tapered I makes it really easy to get in and around the contours of the eye.

Stila Brush #30 (Double ended brush in Photo 5)
This is a brush that I have had for well over two years, and its still performing great! The quality is amazing! This is a double ended eye brush. I use the more flatted square side of the brush to apply my eyeshadow to the lid, and the other more domed side to blend it out. The double end is very convenient.

Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush (Purple brush in Photo 5)
This brush is nice and big and makes putting on eyeshadow a breeze. I use mine to to apply eyeshadow to my crease, and it makes it so easy!

Sigma Blending Brush #E25 ( Brush at bottom of photo 5)
This brush it a great dupe for Macs 217. It does an amazing job at blending out eyeshadow, at a fraction of the price.

Hope you are having a great day!

Dana xx

CHICKEN ROULADE

 









I wanted to share with you one of the dinners I made for my family over the summer break! I'm not trying to be modiste but It tasted amazing and thats why it want to share the recipe with you. I decided to make a chicken roulade something I had never made before.  Once again like my Lemon and Gin Cake recipe,  It was out of my current favourite cookbook, Little and Friday Celebrations. By the picture I was a little bit weary that it was not going to turn out like that, but I decided to challenge myself, and fortunately for me it did :) This is such a great recipe for occasions such as family lunches and dinner parties.

I hope you enjoy, and try It out for yourself! Trust me you won't be disappointed!


Ingredients you will need:

• 1 Tbsp of Olive oil
• 1 onion diced
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 250g of pork mince
• 1/4 Cup of chopped Italian Parsley
• 1 Cup Breadcrumbs
• 1 Egg
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 6 Slices of Prosciutto
• 2 skinless chicken breasts
• 10 Slices of Bacon
• Handful of Basil Leaves
• 4 Hard Boiled Eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 Celsius

2. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook onion and garlic until transparent.

3. In a bowl, mix pork mince, parsley, breadcrumbs, eggs cooked onion mixture until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Lay two sheets of aluminum foil on top of each other on the bench. Lay slices of prosciutto crosswise down center of foil, slightly overlapping the slices.

5. Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag and flatten, using a rolling pin of mallet. Lay flattened breasts over the prosciutto.

6. Spread mince mixture over the chicken breasts, then top with bacon, slightly overlapping the slices. top with torn basil leaves, then line up hard boiled eggs down the middle.

7. With the long side facing you , roll up the roulade in the foil, forming a tight roll. Twist the ends of the foil to seal. Place on a baking tray and cook in centre of oven for one and a quarter hours.

8. Remove from oven allow to cool before unwrapping. Store in a refrigerator  for up to two days.

Dana xx

THE FAVOURITES EDIT: CONCEALERS

One again I couldn't choose just one! But some of these concealers are for different purposes so I think I can get away with it!

I love a good high coverage concealer nothing thats going to show any redness or imperfections. I have both a high end and a drug store option for you, and in my mind they are just as great as each other. From the rubbed of packaging you cant even tell what it is but the concealer on the far right is the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light 2. I used this colour in the winter as its just that little bit to light for me now coming out off summer. The coverage is amazing and it wears very well. It claims to wear for 16 hours, but truly I don't thing any concealer could last 16 hour on my oily skin. It is very creamy and easy to apply blending in with your skin tone very well. I buy mine off Ebay usually for around $16NZ. A great price for an amazing concealer.

For a more High end favourite now I cant get enough of my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. I have the shade Medium1 Custard. This perfectly matches my skin tone at the moment, and is the concealer I am currently using. NARS has done it again! It is lovely and creamy but in no way get cakey or patchy on the skin. It covers redness and imperfections well, making you look blemish free. I don't tend to use this on my under eye as I find it tends to crease and doesn't cover as well as my next product I'm going to tell you about. But all round this is an amazing concealer and I will defiantly be repurchasing!

For my under eyes I love to reach for my MAC NW20 Pro Longwear Concealer. It gives the most amazing coverage under the eyes really helping to get rid of any dark circles. This was a life saver when I got my hands on it. I had tried so many other product high end and drugstore with would either crease, not last long at all, or just have very bad coverage and I couldn't really see any difference after applying it. MAC doesn't crease, slightly highlights the under eye, lasts long, and give amazing coverage. I highly recommend!!!

Thanks for reading!

Dana xx

THE FAVOURITES EDIT: EYESHADOW/PALETTE

So conveniently my favourite eyeshadow is also in my favourite Palette. Which is Kitten by Stila. Stila's eye shadows are amazing, they have beautiful colours, amazing pigmentation, so soft, and are very easy to work with. Kitten is a beautiful shimmery champagne colour which is great for the evening and the day time. It is my most used Eyeshadow and I don't think I could live without it! I use it almost every time I apply eyeshadow. It is such a great all over the lid colour. Kitten is also sold individually if you want to buy it on its own.

I am a lover or a neutral eye and tend to stay away from colour most of the time. Stila In the light Palette has an amazing combination or shimmery and matte neutrals that you can make so many looks out of, from a subtle contour in you crease for the day to a full on smokey eye. The colours are amazing and complement each other so well. I have both the naked palette and Mac palettes and I just love this one that little bit more and I find myself reaching for it all the time. I till haven't found one that quite compares.

Have a great day :)

Dana xx

WHATS IN MY SHOWER

Today I would like to share with you guys my shower routine and what I'm currently using and loving.
These are the kinds of the staple products I need to have in the shower at any given time. In need to have a normal shampoo, a purple shampoo, a conditioner, a hair mask, body wash, and a body scrub. When it comes to the shower though I do like to switch my brands and kinds of products to try something new. So here goes :)

Schwarzkopf Professional - Repair Rescue Conditioner
This is great damaged hair, it works to detangle damaged hair and recharges it with new strength and elasticity. It works to recreate a healthier hair surface and brings hair back to a healthier state. This is what I defiantly need as I am constantly dying my hair, leaving it all straw like and brittle. But I have being seeing a great difference through using this conditioner. You only need to leave it on for 2 minute sand it leaves your hair nice and smooth and soft.


Schwarzkopf Professional- Smooth Shine Shampoo
This shampoo claims to smooth unmanageable hair and give long lasting frizz protection. I don't necessarily have unmanageable hair due to it being straight. But I find it really does leave it quite smooth with a little bit of shine. I tend to stand clear of more supermarket cheaper alternative shampoos as my hair tends to get very oily from using them. I also believe in really taking care of my hair and multiple hairdressers have told me that a lot of the cheaper shampoos have nasty ingredients in them you don't want in your hair. I found after changing to using more high end shampoos my hair was less oily and I could go more days without cleaning it.

Schwarzkopf Professional- Colour Freeze Silver Shampoo
I love to use this shampoo once a week to give my hair colour a nice refresh. Im not a natural blonde but die my hair, so I like to keep the colour in as long as possible with a purple shampoo. The shampoo neutralizes natural yellow tones in blondes and lightens bleached hair. I rinse out it immediately because if you leave it in two long your hair might end up going purple!

Body Shop Coconut Shower Cream 
This shower cream is great when you need a little extra moisturization. I love it as I can be pretty slack sometimes at moisturizing my body. It is a mix of a shower gel and moisturizer with the most amazing coconut scent. I feel like I'm in the tropics every time I'm applying it! I love products that have more than one benefit, and due to me being so slack it keeps me nice and moisturized. It is infused with Virgin Coconut Oil from Samoa which leaves my skin very moisturized and felling healthy and smooth.

Original Source- Lime shower gel
I love using this shower gel in the morning as it such a great refreshing scent to wake you up. This bottle is jammed packed full of forty real limes and claims to be packed also with essential oils. It lathers up really well and you fell nice and clean and refreshed after using it.

Soap and Glory - Sugar Crush Body Scrub
The smell of this product hooked me alone! It is a blend of Smashed brown sugar and sweet lime. Soooo good. And apart from the smell, the product is also a very good at exfoliating,  really getting rid of all your dry flakey nasty skin. I love to use this just before I shave my leg, its also great as a foot scrub, and very affordable!

Macadamia Natural Oil- Deep repair Masque
I love to use a hair treatment at least one a week. This particular one is enriched with Argan and Macadamia oil leaving the hair felling nourished and hydrated. I also love using this as it leaves my hair very soft and silky,  like I have just been to the hairdresser and have a fresh cut. This product has being hyped a lot in the beauty community and I can see why!

Have a Great Day :)

Dana xx