Feeling Fresh

Before I begin, I'd like to let you all know that my blog now has it's own Facebook page, where I'll be keeping you up to date on my blog posts and competitions! And now, on with the post!

I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I feel I can't leave the house without make-up because I feel, well, a little incomplete. But despite that sentence being riddled with various underlying subconscious self-esteem issues, I assure you: I'm okay ;)

I think it all boils down to that one night when I was about 15 and desperately trying to impress a boy at my Youth - I begged my sister to put make-up on me. From that night on, my face has felt a tad naked without my usual base, eyeliner, mascara and blush. If I'm going out in the evening, I luuuurve lathering up my clean-shaven legs with moisturiser that leaves me feeling all pretty and girly-like. I especially love running up to my boyfriend after I've gone through all of my steps and excitedly saying "Feel how smooth my legs are!" In short: I really love feeling fresh and ready to hit the town.
Because when I feel pretty, I feel happy.

In regards to make-up, I love Revlon's ColorStay eyeliner in black. I always give one smooth sweep above my top eyelids and boom. Done.

For eyeshadow, I sort of drift in and out of phases. However, one constant colour that sticks with me no matter what is bronze. I love that colour. I especially love Rimmel's eyeshadow pictured below that I received as a sample at a Cosmopolitan party once.

I tend to chop and change between mascaras too. Recently though, I found some rad lengthening mascara at The Body Shop and for once, I actually feel like it really is lengthening my eyelashes. I hope they bring out an "eye sensitive" version of this product soon though, because I find myself (for some unknown reason) constantly getting mascara in my eyeballs which results in copious amounts of eye-rubbing, ultimately leading to raccoon eyes. But, for those of you whose eyes aren't completely retarded like mine, this mascara is definitely worth a try.

The rest of my make-up collection is pretty straight forward. Kryolan base (LOVE) and Mac blush (pink). They work really well for me and my skintone and that pink blush always makes me feel a bit summery, which I love.

As for moisturisers and creams and stuff, my personal favourite to apply before make-up is definitely the Garnier Even (daily moisturiser). It includes SPF too, and always leaves my face feeling pretty darn fresh. 

I won some cool Freshly Juiced products a while back that I am loving! When I moved into my flat at the beginning of this year and was finally finished unpacking, I sat for about half an hour with my feet in the bath, giving them an exfoliating rub using the Salt Scrub. It worked wonders. The body butter smells really yummy too.

Ooh, and if you wanna sparkle (a lot better than Edward Cullen), I suggest you check out the Peach Blush Shimmer Lotion from Woolworths that my sister bought me for Christmas. It makes you feel especially purty when you go out in the sun. Just be sure to wash your hands after applying or to make use of an applicator because my palms, from time to time, end up blinding me when I walk into the sunlight after hand application.

When the night is done and I'm ready to pass out in bed, I favour TLC wipes to wash and cleanse my face. The Deep Cleanse for Sensitive Skin is my favourite, but they've all got their perks!
I just really do love this brand as well as their new packaging re-design. Luffly!

That's all I have to share for now. Let me know what you think about these products and recommend some that you love in the comment section below! I'd really like to get a list together of some new things to try out. :) Also, don't forget about the Mother's Day competition running on my "Moms" blog post!

Don't you love feeling fresh and ready to take on the world?

I do.

The Diablo III Midnight Launch

To start, let's get one thing straight: I do not play Diablo. (I prefer FPS games) However, with all of the hype surrounding the Diablo III launch, I figured it'd be fun to check out BT Games' midnight launch in Tygervalley on May 15.

Upon arrival, I thought that perhaps I had got the store location wrong because it seemed as though nothing was happening in the centre. When I finally found the store, it was pretty much littered with a bunch of gamers standing around waiting. I have to say, I expected a little more from something with the word "launch" in its title. Perhaps I expected too much. (Though apparently Johannesburg had like, three proper party launches - a little unfair to CT and Durban, I feel.)

I have to put this bit in: Tygervalley has been doing renovations for several months now and they didn't stop for the Diablo launch. So that kind of ruined any atmosphere that could have been, anyway. Blocking your ears from the constant drilling and side-stepping through cement blocks isn't really anyone's idea of a fun night out (as far as I know.) When I approached the guy at the door and asked if there were going to be any giveaways or anything, he shrugged and muttered "I dunno." And then when I asked "So... Is this pretty much it?" He replied "Ya.. I guess so." So yeah, a little disappointed on that front.

Anyhoo, aside from the disappointed vibe before the doors opened, I still managed to get a few shots of the Midnight Launch that began at 11.30 p.m. (?) I must, though, give credit to these guys (pictured below) for taking the cosplay thing seriously and giving me something to photograph. They were really rad and I didn't even have to ask them to pose! True Diablo fans and definite cosplay winners in my books if you ask me.

Once the games were handed out, though, people seemed much happier and there was a general buzz of excitement. A lot of the people grabbed their games and scurried home to begin their digital adventures. I asked about the Collector's Edition and, though it is true that I didn't catch everyone's opinion, the general consensus was that it wasn't really worth the cash. (Apparently the skull that comes with the Collector's Edition is relatively small.)

But, in the end, I had a cool time meeting some new peeps and making people uncomfortable by pointing my camera at them. Everyone left rather pleased with their purchase and seeing them all so excited made me happy. 

I obviously haven't played the game, so let me know what it's like! (I've heard awesome things thus far.) Ooh, and if you have any rad FPS games that you love in mind, please drop some suggestions in the comment section! You can also keep updated with my blog and competitions on Facebook here. Don't cha just love gaming?

I do.

Moms

In case you've been out of touch with the world lately, allow me to get you up to speed:
Yesterday was Mother's Day.

It was weird, because this is probably the first time I've ever spent Mother's Day away from my mama (I moved to Cape Town two years ago and as prices increase, the frequent visits decrease.) So, no. I didn't get to spend the day with my mom. But I did give her a call early in the morning and sang "Happy Mother's Day to yoooou" to the tune of the Happy Birthday song - family tradition. I really enjoyed speaking to her, even if it was just for a short fifteen minutes. I said hello to my dad, sister, gay poodle and  new kitten (that I have yet to meet) during this call too. Needless to say, I need more airtime.

Anyhoo, though I wasn't able to spend Mother's Day with my biological mama, I did get to spend it with the second best thing - my boyfriend's mom. Thing is, when I moved to Cape Town and he and I started dating, I was really unsure about how my relationship with his mom would be seeing as my past two long-term relationships didn't have much to offer in the 'potential mother-in-law' department. However, with my current boyfriend's mom, it's different. She is kind and sweet and generous and always puts everyone else before herself. Honestly, she is the best second mom I could ever ask for. She takes care of me like a daughter, which I'm sure my mom heavily appreciates.

This being said, we decided to take her to the V&A Waterfront to spend a day with her son, daughter and yours truly. We had a deliciously filling meal at Quay 4, strolled around the promenade for a while (catching a bit of South African comedic entertainment on the way) and finally, stopped at the brand new Jo Malone store that has recently been opened at the Waterfront. Here, we were treated to a rejuvenating Hand and Arm massage (bestowed upon me by Cape Royale Luxury Hotel & Spa) accompanied by some absolutely delicious Nescafe coffee (in which I attempted my own coffee cream art... with no success.) The vibe in this store was comfortable elegance. For once I didn't feel like I was going to walk into a fancy glass bottle-filled store and knock everything over (as per usual.) The two lovely ladies working the Mother's Day shift were Tarrin and Donna. Such beautiful women with smiling and friendly faces and genuinely so easy to converse with. They made us feel right at home and we left feeling fresh and smelling beautiful. (The massage also helped greatly with my boyfriend's mom's Osteoarthritis, which I found pretty interesting.)

Unfortunately my camera battery was dead when I took it out, which was rather disappointing, but I had a lovely day nonetheless and am therefore going to show you some pictures of our day that I sneakily stole from the net.

The Tasting Bar - Find your fragrance during your hand & arm massage.

I really regret not taking my camera. But these pretty much sum up the awesomeness that is Jo Malone. And, in celebration of Post-Mother's Day, I will be giving out TEN Hand and Arm massages from Jo Malone, as well as a grand prize of a party for ten held at the Jo Malone store at the V&A Waterfront that includes refreshments and countless Hand and Arm massages for all, on a date of your choosing.

To enter, simply follow this blog and comment "Done" on this post. And while you're at it, tell me what you did for Mother's Day!

Don't you just love spoiling the special peeps in your life?

I do.

Beautiful Shoes

This post is rather ambiguous. I don't really love shoes as much as I love buying them to look at.

Before you continue with this post, you should probably know that I do not wear high heels. I would if I could, believe me. But I literally, physically cannot walk in high heels. I don't know what it is. Perhaps I'm afraid of falling, which wouldn't surprise me, because I'm pretty damn tall.

I really do wish I could wear them, though. It was torture when I was younger and in flats, surrounded by girls in these amazing heels at clubs and dinners and our Matric Dance. I'm not even kidding about the Matric Dance part - I kicked my flats off beneath the table and walked around barefoot all night. But that still kinda makes sense to me because my dress pretty much covered my feet and having to walk in high heels all night would have been even more uncomfortable than the date I took. (He was gay. I didn't know. I tried to hit on him.)

So with all of this said, you'd think I wouldn't buy high heels, right? Ha ha. No, for some reason, just like Toni Collette in In Her Shoes, I collect shoes I can't wear because I think they're just too pretty not to have. But that doesn't go to say that I don't own any gorgeous practical ones...

My favourite boots from Woolworths.

Plum Delicious

Plum Delicious. They may look a tad eccentric, but trust me, they're rad!

Another Plum Delicious beauty.

Edgars, baby.

Went to three different stores to find my size in this from Woolworths!

Jovani

So yeah, I think I own some pretty cool looking shoes. (I only showcase these because the rest of my shoes were recently stolen by my older sister.) But even though these are all from Woolworths, Plum Delicious, Edgars and Jovani, if you had to run into me on the street, I'd most probably be sporting my trusty -and flat- golden Havaianas.

Don't you just love feeling comfy and pretty in shoes?

I do.