Summer Inspiration Board.

If you didn't know that Summer is my all-time favourite season.. get the fuck out because you don't know me at all. I keed, I keed. But pay more freakin' attention next time because I've not made that fact a secret around these parts. Again, I kid. I'm just so damn excited about how close the Summertime is - I can practically taste the salty sea air and the gelato. All the gelato.

 See, Summer has always been when I feel most alive. I become so inspired to explore and make memories. I feel so carefree without worries of tomorrow. I get to enjoy life and the world around me. Beach days and deep tans, sweet fruits and girly cocktails, wavy hair and long, warm evenings.. to me, these simple things are what is what life is about.

If you're not as pumped as I am about the new season (NOBODY is as pumped as I am about the new season) - NEVER FEAR! Here are a few of my favourite little things about Summer to help get you in the mood:

|| breezy dresses and fedoras  ||  beachy waves  ||  coconut mango popsicles  ||
||  bronzed make-up  ||  deep tans  ||  chambay & lace  ||
||  beachy nails  ||  frozen banana and Bailey's drink  ||


What are your favourite Summery things?

My Christmas Wishlist.

I don't mean to alarm you.. but there's exactly one month until Christmas.
One. Freakin'. Month.
Four freakin' weeks. 30 freakin' days.
Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. The food, the fun, the family.. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that 2015 is already drawing to a close. WHERE DID YOU GO, 2015? WHERE?!

As usual, I've gone off topic. CHRISTMAS DOES THAT TO ME, OKAY?!
aaand just like that, were back on topic, so before I ramble off on a completely different direction, raise your hand if you're still to finish your Christmas shopping? Now, raise your hand if you're still to start your Christmas shopping? Because that's where I'm at right now and don't you even pretend like you're not right here with me either.

Anyways, because I'm apparently a selfish Grinch, I've complied myself a little wishlist for the holiday season before I've even thought about what to get anybody else. So before we ponder what kind of terrible person I must be, let's take a look at what I wish I'll see under my Christmas Tree this year:

One: How to be Parisian Wherever You Are  ||  Two: MAC's 'Tropic Tonic' Lipstick
Three: MIMCO's envelope clutch  ||  Four: Benefit Hoola Powder
Five: The Body Shop's honey bronze shimmering dry oil
Six: The Body Shop's honey bronze bronzing powder
Seven: VS Sassoon's curl secret  ||  Eight: Anastasia Beverly Hills' Dipbrow Pomade

Nine: Ray-Ban aviators

What's on your Christmas wishlist?

Friday Finds.

Here are a few of my internet finds (and loves) from over the past week:

\\  I am in love with this fat rainbow unicorn mug.  //
\\  These brown butter herb garlic knots are how you convert me to a bread person.  //
\\  Remove the meat (in my case) and you've got one helluva breakfast sandwich right here.  //
\\  This braided faux hawk ponytail would be lovely for gym days.  //
\\  Excuse me whilst I base my existence around this funfetti crust pumpkin pie.  //
\\  I feel this shirt accurately sums up how I feel about life.  //

Happy Friday, kids.

I am not a Fashion Blogger: Photoshoot Bloopers Part 4.

As you may or may not have seen, I was asked to model a few outfits last month (here, here, here, and here). You also may or may not have seen my bloopers posts from the first three of those four outfits (here, here and here). 

 To me, the whole point of a fashion blog is to post beautiful, magazine quality photos of perfect outfits but there's just so much more to it than point, shoot, and post. After a whole day of shooting, primping, adjusting, re-primping, re-adjusting, crying.. the 500+ photos are whittled down to a measly 5-10 useable images that even then are hugely edited to hide the hideous way your face contorts naturally. Right, guys? RIGHT?! No, just me? Well shit.

At the very least, I got to dress up in pretty outfits and pretend to be cool for a day. Shooting was fun (to a point), but scrolling through the hilarious fails was even more fun. I truly hope you've had fun laughing along with me throughout this series, and I really feel that I'm finishing off strong with this set of photoshoot bloopers from my final outfit post, Summer Vibes:

Did I mention that I have zero balance? Combine that with the standard "crossed ankles" pose and you're going to have a bad time.

The wind on top of that platform, guys. You have no idea.

The ol' Marilyn Munroe dress blow-up.. Except not even close.

Did you know that sea spray fucking stings when it gets in your eyes? 'cause I do..

Hence the face of pure disgust.

Here's a fun fact: I don't can't do close-ups. For reasons clearly demonstrated below.. I'll just leave these here.

For the 10,000th time in this series: Christie does not like wind..

Say it with me!

Derp.

and with that, I conclude this series by taking my hat off to you, proper fashion bloggers.

The guys who make their living off this shit. Who provide beautiful content several times a week.. In just one day, I learnt how dangerous, infuriating, time consuming, unpredictable and embarrassing this profession can be. I have a new-found, undying respect for you lot.

Touché to you all, touché.

For my previous fashion post outtakes, see here, here and here. 

My Month on Instagram - October.

If you've been following Christie's Take on Life for any amount of time, you'd surely know by now that I'm a major lover of Instagram! It's the perfect outlet for posting inspiration and little snippets of life, and seeing what my favourite bloggers and friends are up to.

There are so many times that my Instagram posts never make it to my blog, and that's a damn shame because I consider myself to be quite the photographer..

..Not really, but it's a shame nonetheless.

Instalife the past month looked something like this:

I found myself in what I imagine heaven looks like at the Perth Royal Show early in the month. Macarons are, and always will be life.

I'm insanely proud of this pretty photo of the Ferris Wheel we didn't even go on.. or near.
Those colours, tho.

Turrible image quality but my accidental Chi Chi 'Flirt' and Essie 'Demure' combo was a pretty spiffy fluke.

The cathedral sitting a short walk from my gym (dies) makes exercising that tiny bit more bearable. Especially when the sun starts to set - magic.

Speaking of magic: this is the view of the Perth City skyline from the South Perth Foreshore. The way the light reflect off the water - yes. Just yes.

I had my very first chocolate covered strawberry in over a year. I forgot how good this shit is. So good, in fact, I ate the whole punnet.

October is my birthday month (in case you've been living under a rock and didn't see my overload of birthday spam), so I made my work buddies a pile of pink sprinkle cupcakes - because I'm cute.

Mamma duck kindly gifted me some MAC goodies, including 'Lightscapade', which I've wanted needed for just about ever. It was love at first use, people. Love at first use.

I was spoilt by the "in laws" with a Tiffany necklace (!!!) and have been dying of pure joy ever since.

Just a casual $300 worth of Mecca Maxima haul.. which didn't cost me a freakin' dime! (You can read about what I got here)

I love finding new bloggers on Instagram; leave your account deets in the comments!

Friday Finds.

Here are a handful of my internet finds (and loves) from over the past week:

\\  Cotton candy doughnut sandwich - this is not a drill.  //
\\  How great is this smoky eye trick?! Just blend!  //
\\  This would probably stop your heart, but I'm down for this Jagerbomb construction if you are.  //
\\  Can we all just take a moment to appreciate these pineapple shot glasses please?  //
\\  I must fruity pebbles macaron. Must.  //
\\  What a pretty, yet simple (enough) cherry blossom light DIY. //

Happy Friday, kids.

I am not a Fashion Blogger - Photoshoot Bloopers Part 3.

You may have seen that I was asked to model a few outfits last month (here, here, here, and here). You may also have seen my bloopers posts from two of those four outfit posts (here and here). 

It was fun creating the illusion that I'm some sort of fashion blogger who produces nothing but perfect photos but that's all it was: an illusion. The truth is, behind every beautiful photo lies about 40 wonderfully hideous ones because at the end of the day, I am not graceful, I do not have perfect hair, my clothes are usually crinkled to some degree, my posture is terrible. I'm just an uncool chick with an awkward stance and major resting bitch face who cannot walk without tripping over, and most days, doesn't bother to put on pants..

Here are a handful of my favourite outtakes from my White and Blush outfit post. Enjoy them as much as I do:

I call this particular pose The "Mr Burns"

Nailed it.

and this one The "Cara Delevingne".

Or how about a mid-sentence photo?

and then there's the walking motion shots.. I'll say it once and I'll say it again: I cannot walk.

Though my galumph can only truly be appreciated in GIF form. Behold:

I mean honestly, who walks like this?! 

and the black flats just add beautifully to the overall image.

Watch this space for more bloopers from my final outfit post. Alternatively, you can see my previous fashion out takes here and here. 

October Beauty Favourites.

One: Maybelline HyperSharp Wing Liquid Liner in 'Black'

This is the first flat brushed liner I've tried and it's improved upon my poor ability to create a winged eye substantially. It gives amateur Christie over here an easy, ultra sharp and precise line, and with just a slight turn of the wrist, I can easily create thin or thick looks depending on the angle of the brush. The formula is wonderful! It doesn't smudge, dries quick, and is so easy to build up to the desired thickness, staying put for an entire day. It's most definitely smudge proof when it's dry and is really pigmented so you only need one layer. I still find myself going over my liner more than once, purely because I like an intense look - each to their own, either way, this liner works a treat.

Two: QV Gentle Cleanser
This is the first cleanser that I've found that works for me and I couldn't be more relieved!. I bought this in my birthday beauty haul after a recommendation from a few of my blogger pals as it's formulated for sensitive or dry skin. The texture is luxuriously milky and smooth - at first, it honestly seems like you're putting your moisturiser on. It's creamy and ever so gentle, still managing to break through makeup and grit, leaving my skin feeling fresh and more supple than any cleanser I've tired, I guess due to the vitamin E. Because it is so gentle, I can use it to remove my eye makeup, but I'm also not sure how deeply its cleansing my face so I still perform a deep cleanse once a week. Whatever the case, it seems to work wonderfully, leaving my face feeling soft and fresh, and less dry than ever.

Three: LUSH Happy Hippy Shower Gel
The love I have for this product is mostly based on how heavenly it smells. The fresh citrusy grapefruit scent is a lovely pick me up and great first thing in the morning. The best part is that it doesn’t smell like dishwashing liquid the way many citrus body washes tend to; it's just a natural scent that beats any of the synthetic ones. Period. Aside from the smell, the gel works into a thick lather that makes me feel incredibly clean and refreshed afterwards. It's not overly moisturising, but I've had no reports of dry skin - still a win in my book. LUSH claim that you can use this in your hair as well.. I've always been too nervous to use anything other than shampoo as shampoo, but I can imagine it would leave your hair smelling delicious.

Four: Universal Cosmetics Tint Stick in 'Siren'

I received this in my June Bellabox and I've been using it at least weekly ever since. 'Siren' is my perfect red (because we all need a good red) and due to the fact that it’s a tint, the colour is incredibly long lasting - honestly, it lasts for hours! The water-based formulation is smudge proof, transfer proof, and feather proof, but I also find it to be quite thin and inky upon application so I've got to go over my lips a few times to even out the colour. Even after all those layers, it still feels light and sets matte without any wetness or stickiness and containing Vitamin B5 and Aloe Vera, it's perfect for drier lips.

Five: Nip + Fab Bee Sting Lifting Mask
Although my 22 year old self is yet to get any wrinkles, I bought this on a whim because the prospect of "controlling your face muscles with bee venom" intrigued me beyond my self control. It promises plumping and lifting effects but honestly, don't expect to see any visual changes if you're using it for a short amount of time (10-15 minutes as you would any other face mask). My recommendation is to use it as more of a serum (it's a light gel formula - perfect) overnight, THAT'S when you see yourself some results. I wake up to noticeably plumper skin and a nice improvement to the texture of my whole face. I guess fresh and glowy is the best phrase I can use to describe my complexion upon waking. I feel incredibly soft and hydrated with smoother, more plump and brighter skin. The mask also contains a plethora of other ingredients which help mattify, heal and hydrate - win, win.


What products are you loving this month?