Friday Finds.

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

\\  This shirt sums up my lash life 100%  //
\\  I could definitely deal with a boozy coconut hot chocolate right now.  //
\\  I love this pretty double braid ponytail!  //
\\  Just LOOK at these heart emoji doughnuts!  //

\\  This wall art just gets me. Y'know?  //
\\  How gorgeous does white peach and rose lemonade sound?  //

Happy Friday!

Beauty from my Childhood.

Digging up a horde of once-loved products in the depths of my beauty stash during my attempt at spring cleaning my room yesterday prompted a swift trip down memory lane. Won't you join me as I reminisce about the terrible choices that I made when it came to what I put on my face to go out in public? Fellow 90's babies surely can relate (even if you won't admit it).

There's one word that springs to mind when I think back to my 12/13 year-old beauty regime. That word would (unfortunately) be glitter.. ALL THE GLITTER. I was all about that detergent smelling roll-on body glitter, tracing that shit over all of the upper body parts I could reach, then topping it all off with a giant powder poof full of shimmery body dust. Yeah..IN MY DEFENCE, the roll-on glitter was so disgustingly sticky, I needed a dusting of something over the top and there was no way in hell I could go out without looking like a disco ball.

But wait! We're not done here, oh no! Even though I was sparklier than the human retina could handle, along came Dazzle Dust. Do ya'll remember Dazzle Dust?! Oh man! They were loose shimmer eye shadows that were impossible to apply, and I remember practically throwing them at my eyelids then trying to remove the glitter from down my face. That's when I discovered Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse - every 90s girl's go-to foundation. It would cover up the glitter landslide coming from my eyes almost perfectly, and I would paint it on with one of those crappy circular foam applicator pads (what is hygiene/contamination/washing your sponges) that STILL come with everything.

I think my dislike towards liquid liner stems from the traumatic period in which my 15 year-old self first discovered such a thing. Of course, I couldn't just go with old faithful black, oh no, my very first experience with liquid eye liner was a pot from AVON, and it was blue. And I don't mean the subtle, blended in blue, I mean bright, neon sign blue. Yup, that liner in the picture up there happens to be the very one. Obvious choice, past me. I remember my very first application so well, because I put it on my lower waterline. HAVE YOU EVER PUT LIQUID LINER ON YOUR LOWER EYE?! It bleeds in to your God damn eyes, turning the whites whatever colour you're trying to line them with. It's terrifying. So here I am, crying blue tears because I'm convinced my whole eye is going to be bright blue for the rest of my life. Despite that day, I tried. I really, really tried. For about two months, I'd glide that shit over my (upper) eyelids and go to school with wobbly, gappy, uneven, blue top, black bottom eyes. Horrendous.

Up until the age of about 17, I believed will all my being that lipstick was for old ladies (BLASPHEMY!), so I stuck to gunky lip glosses in my day, and a lot of it. I really mean a lot. The cheaper and nastier the stuff, the better apparently. I also bought myself a new tube of 60c Lip Smacker every two weeks without fail, and I used them religiously, even though I knew I'd lick it right off within 5 minutes because they all smelled and tasted amazing. I'm not even mad about this one though, I honestly would never hate on Lip Smackers. Ever. Truthfully, I still have a tube or two in my stash that I use regularly - they're fucking fantastic.

Can we talk about Impulse for a second? Because I feel a post about childhood beauty really isn't the same without mention of Impulse body sprays, amirite? Yup, like you, my scent of choice ranged between various cans of Impulse that I'd spray all over myself between every single class. That's a spray every hour, and let me tell you: too much of a good thing really IS a thing. I thought I was so very grown up when I started using what I thought of as perfume. It was Chi Chi's shimmering body mist in Watermelon and it was delicious! I still have a tiny bit left in the cheapo plastic bottle that I've been saving because I love it so much. I'm not even embarrassed to admit that I will be repurchasing this baby when I finally use it all up (Chi Chi have since updated the bottle to look less cheap and more perfume-y).

There you have it: the "beauty" of my childhood!

I just have to include some (dis)honourable mentions here:

• Claggy hair mascara
• Maybelline's Wet Shine nail polish
• Mechanical braider machines that would tangle your hair like no one's business
• Coloured hair spray
• Anything that came from Sabrina's Secrets (My God do you remember Sabrina's Secrets?! Yas!)

Oh past me.. I have no words.

Friday Finds.

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

\\  I love chai. I love ice cream. I love homemade chai ice cream.  //
\\  This DIY sugar scrub is perfect for Valentines Day.  //
\\  Speaking of Valentines Day, how cute are these Cupid's heart balloon sticks?  //
\\  I can't think of anything better than tomato and zucchini spaghetti with avocado sauce.  //

\\  Salted caramel hot chocolate with homemade salted caramel marshmallows oh my!  //
\\  Twist ponytail: When you can't decide between a braid and a ponytail.  //

Happy Friday!

December Look Back and January Goals.

December really isn't a month for goals. I'd usually be disappointed in myself for accomplishing as little as I set out to over the month, but Christmas.. I ain't even mad.
Here's a look back at December's goals:

Try my very best not to eat like shit through the whole of my Christmas break

"I've been doing so well with this weight loss thing, it'd be true Christie fashion to undo all my hard work in the space of a few days. I am permitted to eat like a pig on Christmas Day, because that's how we do, but I'm determined not to make it a month-long junk food saga as per usual."

Cross: Yeah, no. I knew I wouldn't be able to resist ALL THE FOODS.

Lose 1kg

"As I doubt I'll be able to lose the usual 3kg over the silly season, I'd be happy with a 1kg loss this month.. Hell, I'd be happy as long as I don't put on weight this month."

Cross: This kind of goes hand in hand with eating everything I saw over Christmas.. I somehow only managed to gain 1kg, though, which is a lot better than what I was expecting.

Plan a New Year's Eve celebration

"I've had a terrible New Years Eve every. single. year of my life. BUT NOT THIS YEAR, DAMN IT! I want to have my night planned before December 20 to avoid shitty, rushed, last minute misadventures."

Cross: Even though my New Years Eve was spend on the couch watching YouTube with Jesse, it still was the best (read: drama-free) NYE I've ever had. Sad but true.

Concentrate on my event planning dreams

"I'm going to make 2016 the year I focus on pursing my event planning and management dreams, which means December is the month to study, study, study! I have an exciting announcement relating to said dreams, but I'll leave that for another time. ;)"

Tick: I'm surprised I managed to study as much as I did over December. Pats on the back for days. You can read about my above mentioned "exciting announcement" here.

January goals:

I made a list of hopes for 2016 as a whole, but here are my specific goals for January, not to be confused with New Year's Resolutions, because that's all a crock of shit:

Submit one assessment and begin the next

Creating somewhat of an assessment deadline really helps me get shit done. I'm surprisingly good at motivating myself to knock my work out and submitting them waaayyyy ahead of the due date, despite also working full-time. Hopefully I can keep this up to avoid the stress and last-minute throw-together work.

No non-essential spending

I went a little lot crazy over December with multitudes of unnecessary purchases, buying masses of takeout (whoops), and clothes and makeup online. This month, I'm putting a total spending ban on clothing and "treat" items, as well as any takeout. Im also limiting how much I can spend on things like outings and dinners etc. out.

Get back in to my workout routine and "good" eating habits

Getting back to the gym has been hard. Really hard. I've been sporadically going for two weeks now and it's about time I got serious again, going every Monday, Tuesday and Friday without fail, as well as getting back to my healthier eating habits. Goodbye delicious takeout, you were a beautiful Christmas fling.

Lose 2kg

This isn't so much a weight-loss goal, as it is a weight-correction goal? I guess? I want to lose that annoying 1kg I put on over Christmas, as well as losing another one on top of that so I feel like I'm making progress. Anything more than that would be a very welcome bonus.

Friday Finds.

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

\\  White wine poached pears with honey and pistachios are all my favourite things combined.  //
\\  These DIY lemon and green tea bath bombs are too simple to be so fancy.  //
\\  If I were even halfway handy, this DIY 'bonjour' marquee would be on my wall by now.  //
\\  Okay, potato chip salted champagne caramels.. what?!  //
\\  I love this half halo braid tutorial - so pretty.  //
\\  I'm sorry, but this is a freakin' WATERMELON CAKE!  //


Happy Friday!

DIY Watermelon "Ice"

Now THIS is my kind of DIY: One that is simple enough that it doesn't require a full set of instructions, yet is impossible to mess up. Plus, It's just perfect for Summer, and we all know how I feel about that. 

It's basically a lazy girl's version of fancy fruit infused ice, but better because you can EAT THE FREAKIN' ICE AND IT'S DAMN DELICIOUS. Honestly, it doesn’t get any easier than this, just chop, freeze and serve. No ice cube trays to fill up, no pureeing, no crying because you suck at anything DIY.. It's a win-win.

These cubes work in so many different drinks. They absorb the flavour of whatever they're floating in - my favourite combination is frozen watermelon and lemonade. The watermelon at the end has that sweet lemonade zing and I can't even. They also go great with Vodka mixes, fruit juices, and it adds a refreshing hint of sweetness to water, too without adding masses of calories.

Or, you could just eat the frozen cubes on a hot day - you're not going to be disappointed either way. I promise.

My Month on Instagram - December.

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 treated myself to a little pre-Christmas shopping. I went with the intention of doing my Christmas shopping and picking myself up a 2016 planner.. One of those things happened, plus a few more treats, minus any actual Christmas shopping for anyone else. Whoops. 

I'm always insanely proud of myself whenever I give myself a successful smokey eye. This was mad face for Jesse's work's Christmas function.



The essay of a caption pretty much says it all.. You can read up on my achievement here.

You can't beat homemade eggnog.. in bed.. in cute pants. It just keeps getting better.

Aaaannnd then I made eggnog, because I gave myself cravings with aforementioned Instagram post. Yup.

Work took my French couisne-ginity for our Christmas function and I've never felt more fancy.

Christmas gift cards are my favourite thing. Ever. You can see my full haul here.

I'm definitely not a salad person but THIS SALAD, guys. My God. Plus, I'm pretty sure halloumi can end wars.


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

Friday Finds.

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

\\  Nobody makes aranchini like my Nonna, but this fontina, roasted garlic and goats cheese aranchini sounds amazing!  //
\\  How good does a homemade coconut latte sound?!  //
\\  My new addiction to interior design shows has made me appreciate this DIY faux herringbone backsplash so much more.  //
\\  This furry stool DIY is all kinds of simple, yet fancy - my favourite combination.  //
\\  I love this easy soft waves with a hairdryer tutorial!  //

\\  Marbled Nutella marshmallows - because you can't go wrong with Nutella. Or marshmallows. Or marble.  //

Happy Friday, kids!

My LUSH Haul.

My very first haul of 2016 basically had to be from LUSH.
Using vouchers I received for Christmas (thanks, mum!) I picked up a few goodies I'd had my eye on for a while, as well as a few heat of the moment purchases that turned out to be fantastic little finds, and welcome additions to my supply.

D'Fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap

I've never bothered with shaving creams because I'm lazy. I just use the shower gel I bought in there with me, but this is wonderful, and about 40x better than using a shower gel. It coats the area with a smooth, creamy layer that allows the razor to glide over the skin with ease, giving a smoother, closer shave. The soothing oils reduce irritation and redness caused by shaving and the moisturizing properties leave my skin feeling soft and smooth straight after use. 

Oatfix Fresh Face Mask

This is too lovely on my dry and sensitive skin! It smells lovely - like breakfast and is incredibly moisturizing without breaking me out. Although slightly difficult to apply, it's soothing, nourishing, calming and leaves my face feeling super soft. The short shelf life is a shame but it gives me an excuse to pamper myself more often!

Angels on Bare Skin Fresh Facial Cleanser

I finally took the plunge and picked up a 100g tub of Angels on Bare Skin, and it naturally, was the first thing I trialed. I must say, I was impressed. Sure, it's messy to use (as are most LUSH products) but a little mess is well worth the result, because when your beauty-ignorant boyfriend notices a difference in the smoothness of your skin, you know you're on to a winner. I don't feel it's as cleansing as a regular face wash so I use it after my normal nightly routine, but the exfoliating pieces do a wonderful job of gently scrubbing the skin clean of anything my first cleanse may have missed and it feels absolutely heavenly on my dry, sensitive skin! I've always felt dry and tight after a facial cleanse but this is the first and only product I've found that has not given me that sensation. Instead, my skin feels so smooth, soft and healthy.

The Comforter Bubble Bar

This has the same blackcurrant scent as Sweetie Pie (mentioned below), only more subtle. I've used it once already and should get at least three more baths out of the one bar. It turns the water a lovely pinkish purple and creates the creamiest bubbles.

Dragons Egg Bath Bomb

I got to try this bad boy at the Bloggers United meet I attended last year, so I know exactly what I'm in for when I do use it. It starts off a creamy white and fizzes to a glorious orange froth with golden glitter and has a subtle yet lovely fruity citrus scent.

Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly

I'm not going to lie, the concept of a shower jelly makes me squirm a little uncomfortably inside, but guys..the smell of this stuff. My God. It's like blackcurrant fruit pastilles and I can't even. Plus it's sparkly, how could I not? Just a small spoonful of this stuff lathers so luxuriously with a shower puff and apparently doubles as a shampoo of sorts. I could deal with my hair smelling like this all day. Could definitely deal.

Happy Hippy Shower Gel

I've raved about this shower gel about ninety-zillion times, most recently here, so we all know how I feel about this baby but as my bottle was almost finished, I couldn't help but pick up the 250mL offering. You just can't beat that fresh, citrus grapefruit scent in the morning, guys. Trust.

Honey I Washed The Kids Soap

I shouldn't really include this because it was a free sample, BUT I just couldn't leave it out. The honey/toffee scent is so damn delicious and it's sooo much gentler on the skin than regular soap.


I'd say this particular haul was a raging success (good start to the year, I say). I am 100% happy with every single thing I picked up, which is a rare feat for me. I can see almost everything becoming products I repurchase over and over again.

December Beauty Favourites.

One: MAC Lip Pencils in 'Whirl' and 'Lasting Sensation'
MAC has always been my favourite when it comes to lips. The formulas are amazing, the colour payoff is magnificent, but these pencils.. man. These pencils define your lips beautifully and keep your colour on forever. What I’m really loving, though, is how both colours are so versatile under different shades. I recently bought Lasting Sensation to use in conjunction with my tube of Toxic Tonic and purchased Whirl to use under Velvet Teddy a while back (which works amazingly, by the way) but lately I've been wearing both under different shades of pinks, reds and nudes. I love how it changes the tone to give a completely different end result.

Two: Briogeo Rosarco Milk Reparative Leave-In Conditioning Spray
I'm not one to use hair products a whole lot, so when I find a product that I use daily, I know it's a goodie. And a goodie this is. I've been using this so much over our hot Australian Summer to hydrate and strengthen my dried out hair and it's done a world of good, adding shine and making my hair look and feel healthier overall. It also defends against damage from UV rays and heat styling - perfect for me right now.

Three: Nuxe Lait Démaquillant Confort Comforting Cleansing Milk
I got a sample of this back in my July Bellabox and have since gone through two more full-sized bottles. I use it as a makeup remover and it's pretty amazing at getting the job done, minus that unpleasant waxy coating I've experienced with other milks. Great for dry-sensitive skin, this feels amazing on my face and rinses clean. It has a luxuriously rich, smooth texture that cleanses while protecting my skin from dryness. It's super gentle and doesn't sting the eyes, removing makeup easily with gentle, circular rubbing, leaving my skin feeling very smooth, supple, and nourished.

Four: Maybelline Lash Sensational Waterproof Mascara
I've heard nothing but good things about Lash Sensational so when I saw the waterproof formula during Priceline's 40% off cosmetics sale, I had to have it.. Despite the fact that I have about 4839545398 tubes of mascara in my beauty supply. Not even mad. I'm fussy when it comes to mascara, and I'd found nothing that's beaten my beloved tube of Butterfly Wings, but I think this may have done it. I want falsie-like length and no-smudge, no-clump separation from my mascara and this definitely delivers that, giving good length and volume, wonderful separation and lash definition, all with waterproof staying power.

Five: The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder in 'Medium'

This little gem has been mentioned in a few of my past favourites but as Summer has really kicked off, a bronzer is once again a necessity and I was able to dust off and discover my love for this baby all over again. It's everything I want in a bronzer: great for contouring, not muddy, not too brown, not orange at all and a completely matte formulation. I can use it lightly for a subtle glow, or build it up for a more sun-kissed look. Either way, never looking cakey or fake.

Six: Kate Moss for Rimmel Matte Finish Lipstick in '111 - Kiss of Life'
This is a damn good lipstick, and my go-to fire engine red. I picked up a tube on a whim during Priceline's 40% off cosmetics sale and I'm so glad I did. Other than the gorgeous shade, the matte formulation is perfect - not drying nor powdery, and the wear-time is magnificent, lasting until well-past lunch, even when I am too lazy for forget lip liner. The classy rose scent ain't too shabby, either.