But first, why on earth do I eat in this way?

Well, I have struggled with my weight for years, but it wasn’t until I cut out refined sugar and refined carbohydrates that I really got a handle on the problem and liberated myself from the cycle of weight loss and gain.

But that’s not all it’s about.

It seems that veganism is the new trendy way to eat, and everyone from Bill Clinton, to Ellen deGeneres, to Russell Brand, to Olivia Wilde are on the bandwagon. Even Brad Pitt has recently declared himself vegan, and Def Jam founder Russell Simmons wrote a passionate letter outlining his reasons for becoming vegan.

However, I am not a ‘full vegan’. On using cronometer to track my nutrition, I found it hard to get enough calcium without having a piece of cheese or two during the day. I might also have a spoonful or two of yoghurt. I’m quite okay with not being ‘ full vegan’ because I don’t feel I have to justify the way I eat to anyone – I just eat as I want to.

Perhaps having pet sheep and living on farmland has given me a new appreciation for animals, which has informed my decision to eat in this low impact way.

Having said all of this, I find there are many benefits to eating in this manner, making me very motivated to continue:

1. I never have to worry about my weight. Ever.

2. I feel good that the way I eat impacts far less on animals and the environment. All the fuel, water, and energy that it takes to raise and slaughter an animal, or harvest their products, is greatly reduced. To make just one beef pattie, 2400 litres of water are consumed, which is enough for a four hour shower. That is without the mention of trucks to transport livestock, clearing of forests for farmland, and release of methane into the atmosphere accelerating global warming. On a further environmental note, it is said that at the current rate, there will be no fish left in the ocean by 2048. Sad indeed.

3. It’s inexpensive. It’s amazing how cheap fresh food is.

4. I feel great. My digestion has always been rubbish, but eating this way does away with any digestive problems entirely. I’m no longer tired, I have lots of energy, and my brain functions at its best when I eat this way. This food helped me do my best work when I was busting out 14 hour days during the final six months of the PhD. Over the Christmas period, my partner actually said that he missed ‘our food’ because it made him feel so good.

5. I don’t feel controlled by advertising. Fresh food is remarkably free of hype. Buying my food from the outside aisles of the supermarket and then leaving, or from a farmer’s market, is immensley satisfying.

6. It’s more effective at keeping wrinkles at bay than anything La Prairie will try to sell me. Refined carbs, refine sugar, and alcohol will break down collagen in the face over time and create wrinkles just as exposure to the sun does. Read more about this process of glycation here.

7. My risk of heart disease, cancer, and so on, is much lower. Good.

8. I’m a binge eater, but this slow-release-energy helps me keep the binging under control. Also, I always need to eat enough plant-based protein in every meal to feel full and further guard against binginess, but eating lots of plant-based protein doesn’t make me feel sluggish like eating lots of meat or dairy does. I don’t feel restricted either, and I can eat reasonable portions of food. I read somewhere  that the idea of calories was quite misleading, as seeds or nuts (for example) have evolved to pass throught the digestive system with minimal impact, and thus not all calories are absorbed into your system. On the other had, calories from a piece of cake are already well and truly refined and broken down, making it easier to absorb all the calories in the piece. If I remember where I read that I’ll provide the link

So what on earth do I eat? Well, here are some examples from today:

Coffee. My day doesn't start without this. I used to have a serious coffee addition, but I've cut down to just one or two per day.

Breakfast is always porridge with whatever seasonal fruit is on offer. I make it with regular milk or almond milk, depending on what we have on hand. I also love this porridge with mixed spice or cinnamon in winter.

Lunch is always plant-based protein + salad. Today I had sauteed quinoa with onion, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. I could have added lots of vegetables but I was rushed for time. Salad is just whatever seasonal vegetables are available, with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.

Standard snack: seasonal fruit. No surprises there.

Gallons of green tea.

Tea last night was roasted chickpeas with moroccan spice, sesame oil, tofu, and probably a few other ingredients I can't remember, but you get the idea.

Tea tonight was cannellini bean mash with olive oil, onion, garlic, and thyme. Love that one.

Other examples of plant-based protein I eat include tempeh and tofu. I don't eat large quantities of these because I read that too much soy can be bad, but I do love them both. Just boil or steam the tempeh before you cook it to remove the bitterness.

I also eat a lot of these.

These are staples in every meal.

I have learned the importance of spices in cooking. I know!

These are lovely additions to pretty much anything you are cooking in a pan.

BUT I will have a bit of cheese too...

...and probably some yoghurt...

...and I've always had to take these, even when I wasn't vegan-ish. Without them, my bones feel like lead.

So, that’s pretty much what I eat. I am an absolute non-cooker, yet I find it very easy to throw these sorts of meals together. A better cook than me would probably be much more creative with meals, but I just don’t have the time, and I’m not really that interested in creative cooking. I just want fresh, tasty food, that is good for me with a minimum amount of fuss. I have so much else to do!

For far more creative fare (I’m in awe), check out Stacey’s amazing new blog at The Cat’s Pyjamas (both vegetarian and vegan recipes, as well as information on ethical shopping and beauty), or Easy as Vegan Pie, recommended by the enthusastic vegan and all-around literary bod, Marieke Hardy. You can also have a look at Bite-Sized Thoughts, a blog written by a fellow West Aussie.

Now that I’ve finished the PhD (until the examiners’ report comes in, that is) I want to start planning for 2013. Whilst I am fortunate to have received a scholarship to support my PhD research, it will be great to have a proper salary again and start saving for the future! Thus, my goals and resolutions for 2013 are as follows:

Save for a house: My partner and I have been talking a lot about real estate and what we should buy. We are so tempted to buy an old federation house and renovate, or we could buy a lovely block of land and build, or perhaps buy an apartment in the city and a house in the country. This is what we’re considering at the moment:

Contender 1 - Renovate large federation house and have own hill to live on.

Contender 2 - Build on massive 100 acre block with views to the ocean. Continue to live on own hill.

Contender 3 - Divide our funds to buy an apartment in South Perth and a house in the country. Potential to have own hill severly diminished.

Continue my academic writing: On speaking to others who have completed a PhD, the biggest regret I hear is that they didn’t pursue their academic writing post-PhD. I want to try and publish two or three academic articles in the next year and keep the academic side of my brain thinking. I’m also considering doing some tutoring at university.

Do some freelance writing: I’ve accepted a commission to write a lit review for a prominent Australian newspaper, so it’ll be interesting to see what the whole process is like. I’m looking forward to writing in a style that’s not primarily academic!

Help out others in my new job: I’ve worked at one of the top private schools in Australia for most of my teaching career, but I’ve recently accepted a position to teach at a rural school in the area where I grew up. I’m really hoping to contribute something to the local community and help students who don’t have $22,000 per year to pay for fees.

Get my skin in great condition: DIY has been such a saviour for my skin. Rather than lamenting all that sundamage I’ve gathered over the years, DIY skincare gives me a way to actually do something about it and feel better about the way I look. Not only is it more potent and effective than anything you buy over the counter, it’s MUCH cheaper too. I want to try dermarolling in the new year and see if I can improve my skin still further.

Exercise: Whilst I’m very happy with the way I eat now (80% – 90% vegan, no refined carbs or refined sugar) and I no longer have to worry about my weight (which is good, because I have so many other things to think about!) exercising has fallen by the wayside. When I was finishing my PhD I spent every waking moment writing, and exercise was thrown aside. I’d like to pick it up again in the new year, though. A new pair of trainers is in order!

Take time to enjoy life: I tend to work a lot. I’ll continue to work in the early mornings before I head into my full time job, and when I come home in the evenings, and on Sundays, but I’m going to trial the idea of having a full Saturday off and see how it goes.

So let’s see! I’m very excited for 2013. Have you been thinking about your new year’s resolutions? Tell me about them in the comments or link me to your post! I’d love to read about them.

So I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for a while, and now that it’s Sunday morning and I’m sitting here with green tea in hand, I think that now is the time!

I’ve posted quite a bit in the past about DIY skincare and improving my skin, and I have posted a sunscreen tutorial in the past too. This Rose Sunscreen recipe is simply a refining of that original sunscreen recipe. Rose sunscreen is very thin, spreads very easily, doesn’t leave a white cast , and actually gives you a little bit of coverage too. I sometimes just wear it as a base on its own because it makes my skin look so healthy. I think this would have to be the best sunscreen formula I’ve ever made, and blows any commerically available product out of the water. It’s also 99% natural (as a little preservative is a necessary evil, I fear).

Other than sunscreen, at the moment I’m using a simple but potent skincare routine of:

am

‘Easy rinse’ oil cleansing method

10% MAP (vit c) serum

Shea butter as moisturiser

Rose sunscreen

pm

‘Easy rinse’ oil cleansing method + tanaka massage

Kinetin serum

Shea butter as moisturiser

Exfoliation with a microfibre or muslin cloth when needed

My skin reacts very well even to this quite simple skincare routine because all the serums have potent, fresh ingredients. It also costs me a fraction of what it would cost to buy in store. I’m hoping to add an eye serum and another face serum to my routine in the coming weeks

Before I get to the recipe, let me share some pics of what the Rose Sunscreen looks like. These were taken a while ago in readiness for this post (better late than  never!):

In the photo above I am wearing Rose sunscreen, blush, lipgloss, mascara, and that’s it. It makes my skin look really healthy!

This sunscreen also adheres well to the skin, works with makeup, and is so much cheaper than buying a ready made product in the shops.

So here is how to make it:

• ZnO (coated) …………………. 24%
• Rosehip Oil …………………… 24%
• H2O ………………………………. 20.5%
• HA @1% ……………………….. 10%
• Sea Emollient ……………….. 5%
• Vit E Powder ………………….. 3%
• Lecithin …………………………. 8%
• Sclerotium Gum @1% …. 4%
• Grape Seed Extract ………. 0.5%
• CoQ10 ………………………….. 0.5%
• Phenox. ………………………… 0.5%
• Rose EO

1. Warm oil in warm water, and dissolve the CoQ10, then lecithin. Blend.
2. Add ZnO bit by bit and really work it into the formula. I blend and then use a spoon to scrape down the sides and vigorously stir so that the ZnO is evenly distributed. Do this about three or four times, then pour the ZnO mixture into a container and put to the side. Clean blender.
3. Place water and Vitamin E Acetate into the blender. Then add Grape Seed Extract and continue to blend until there are no lumps. Pour into a container and set aside. Wipe out/ clean.
4. Place Sea Emollient in blender. Add hyaluronic acid, and blend, then Sclerotium Gum and blend.
5. Slowly add the water/ Vit E/ Grape Seed Extract mix from earlier and blend.
6. Slowly add the ZnO/ Oil/ CoQ10/ Lecithin mixture and continue to blend.
7. Blend the entire mixture, pausing every now and again to scrape down sides and mix the formula yourself. Blend until the formula becomes nice and smooth. Do this for as long as you can.
8. Add phenoxyethanol and Rose Geranium essential oil and blend a little more.
9. Place sunscreen into a plastic bag, cut off a corner with scissors, and pipe into an airless pump bottle.
10. You should have a light, milk-coffee coloured sunscreen that disappears into the skin and gives a healthy glow.

I’ve kept the measurements as percentages so that you can make this recipe in whatever quantity you wish. To make the process easier, you can use SEA’s batch calculator here.

Zinc Oxide is obviously really good for sun protection, but if you have skin that is acne/ blackhead prone, or is just in need of repair or calming, zinc oxide is a great ingredient. If my skin is ever a bit wind-bitten I just wear my sunscreen to bed and my skin is fixed the next day. This recipe also functions as a serum because it contains lots of antioxdiants (partially to mop any free radicals around, partially for your skin) and skin-loving ingredients in general.

I still buy all my ingredients from Skin Essential Actives because they have the best quality ingredients for the cheapest price. If you want to talk more about DIY skincare, head here.

I hope you try out this recipe!

Thankyou to everyone for your comments!! I really should do that more often – makes the agony of choice much easier!

Anyway, back to me, haha! Here are seven dresses that I think would be suitable for the wedding. I want to know what you think! I can’t decide! As it’s my first proper night out post-thesis, I don’t want to look like I’ve been dragged backwards through a hedge. I want to get rid of the student look and enjoy a sophisticated night out.

All the dresses are from the 1960s. I must like that era! Also, some of my expressions look like I want to fight you. I assure you I do not.

1. Black dress with bell skirt.

The only problem is that I’ve managed to destroy the hook on the back of the collar. This is where long hair comes in handy!

2.  Japanese-inspired brocade dress:

I adore the train on the back of this dress!

3.  Deep emerald velvet dress with beading on the bodice:

4.  Fine-knit cream dress with rhinestone-spangled sleeves and a low back.5. Black and white dress with fringing at the hem and pearl rhinestone detailing at the bust. The bodice also features knife-pleat chiffon.

6. Mauve-pink chiffon dress with a short train at the back. This feels AMAZING on.

7. Purple silk dress with rhinestone buttons on both sleeves and a sweetheart neckline.

So what do you think? What do I go for? It’s just about spring here but it’s still a bit chilly, although I think it will be reasonably warm indoors.

Thoughts?

Ideas on accessories are most welcome too!

That’s my PhD desk. Yup.

When I had my final meeting with my supervisor, I described to him how taxing the final few months of my PhD had been. He put his elbows on the arm rests of his chair, placed his hands together to make a pyramid, and knowingly said, “Yes, but if you’d known how difficult it was going to be, you would never have have started”.

This is the essence of a PhD. Before you start, you have the sense that it will be a difficult pursuit. But you don’t really know how difficult it will be. What I want to do in this post is give you some idea of what it’s like to work on this single, daunting project.  Is it for you? Well, these are the things you need to consider to make that decision:

1. Your marks: The general path for study in Australia is Honours, Masters, then PhD.  However, if you have achieved a first class Honours degree (average of 80% or above), then you can skip Masters and go straight to a PhD.  I took the latter path, and whilst the step between undergraduate study and Honours is huge, so is the step between Honours and PhD. Perhaps even more so.  I can understand the argument for going from Honours to Masters and then, perhaps, turning it into a PhD if you choose, because the learning curve is less brutal. I suppose the difficulty lies in finance for most people, as it did for me. Very few are willing to put their lives (and money) on hold for longer than they need to, even if the intellectual journey will be a bit less shocking because of it.

2.  Money: I was fortunate enough to receive an Australian Postgraduate Award which enabled me to do my PhD. If you have a good First, then you should apply for one too. The money is not grand, but it will keep you in stockings and gin. If you are moving from a salary to a scholarship, it is a BIG step down financially. I paid off all my debt before I started, but if you have a mortgage, car loans, etc money will be a bit trickier to negotiate. To be honest, even though I was debt free when I started, I am back in debt now. My savings are long gone, and I’ve needed my partner to dip into his pockets for me on many occasions.

3.  The academic journey: The beginning of  a PhD is great. You read interesting books,  figure out your topic, have coffee with interesting people, and generally just having a good time. This lasts for about a year.

Then, things start to get a bit more serious. By the second year you are well in to hacking out chapters and sorting out a direction for your thesis, and you start to think about how much work it’s going to take to finish this. A thesis is “an original contribution to academia”, so there is no frame of reference for what you are writing.  Finding your niche and working out the direction for your thesis is crucial, and very difficult.

In the final six months, things are insane. I am no stranger to hard work.  In my last job I worked between six and a half and seven days a week, and routinely worked until 11 at night, so I was used to high stress and long days. But let me tell you, the last six months of the PhD is right up there in terms of hard work and stress levels. To finish the thesis, I worked 14 hour days with an odd day off here and there (perhaps once a fortnight), because it’s not until you get to the end of a PhD that you know how to write it. You look back on everything you’ve written, and see the inconsistencies between chapters and arguments, the weak footnotes, and you understand what you need to do with alarming clarity.  It takes a lot of work. For me, the introduction and conclusion were the hardest part of the whole thing – my introduction alone was about 10,000 words and I revised it about 8 or 9 times.

4.  Wellbeing: I exercised regularly and ate very well during my PhD, and even though I had to give up my exercise towards the end of my PhD, I feel like it really helped me think clearly through long, long days. When I did Honours I was working full time and studying part time, and amongst all of that I was drinking a crazy amount of coffee and eating junk. It made the whole experience much harder than it should have been. To operate at an advanced intellectual level for extended periods, your brain needs to be working at its optimal level. Eating decent food and exercising when you can has a huge impact on this.

5. Emotional support: If someone had told me that I would need emotion support to write this thing I would have scoffed.  I’ve frequently had to manage work and study on my own and had no problems with that. However, I NEEDED emotional support to write this, particularly towards the end. Phonecalls to friends who had been through the same thing and a sympathetic partner made the world of difference to how I was feeling.  Part of PhD success lies in the ability to keep working despite extreme amounts of stress, and a supportive network helps with these situations. Remember, though, that in order to get through this process, you need, above all things, endurance. You need to work on your own for long, long periods.  At PhD level, you are not competiting with other people in your class, you’re competing with yourself, through all the stress and self-doubt.

But remember, the point of the PhD is for it to be challenging. The best academic minds in the world will be your reference point, and PhDs are not given out lightly. If you have drive, dedication, the ability to work long hours, and an inherent passion for your subject, then perhaps this is the path for you. Making this kind of decision is always going to be a scary leap of faith, but these are the moments that make life meaningful. If you decide to do it, good luck to you.

I’m still nervous, crazed, and exhausted from the whole experience, but whilst I attempt to normalise (and wait for the examiners’ report) I will be back to writing blog posts here. I’m so happy to have finished writing my PhD. It’s been one of the most enjoyable and difficult periods of my life, but I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to do it.

I handed in my latest writing last night, so today I’ve had precious time to run errands and pick up mail. And look what arrived! I literally ran in, got changed, and took a picture for you all, which is why it is a bit blurry:

I’m usually a size 8 but I always buy one size up in  As0s-own clothing because I find they run a bit small, so I’m wearing a size 10 here.

I can’t wait to wear this in winter. I love it! I really hope midi-length pieces never go out of style.

You can have a look at the dress on Asos here.

In the mornings I want something that is really quick to apply but makes me look awake and polished:

Base: DIY Rose Sunscreen.

Cheeks: Edward Bess Compact Rouge in Love Affair, Le Metier de Beaute bronzer (a little applied above temples too).

Eyes: Two Faced Shadow Insurance, MAC All That Glitters, Lancome Le Stylo Wateproof in Cafe, Covergirl Lashblast.

Brows: MAC Mulch.

Lips: Lanolips 101 Ointment and Bobbi Brown Lipstick in Pale Plum.

I am absolutely loving the wide-awake look that MAC’s All That Glitters gives to my eyes. It’s an instant full night’s sleep for me.

The Edward Bess Compact Rouge is such a great quality product too: it looks very natural on my cheeks and wakes my face up. It also works well with the Le Metier de Beaute bronzer. Previously I think I was far too heavy-handed with bronzer application, but now that I’ve learnt to just tap my brush into the bronzer I’m much happier with the result I get with it. Bronzer gives my face fantastic shape when applied just under cheekbones and above the temples. I think when my face naturally had less shape it was very hard for me to achieve any sort of sculpted look with bronzer (it was like painting stripes on a half-deflated beach ball) but now that I *have* some shape thanks to good skincare and facial exercises, I find merely emphasising that shape much easier.

I’m really loving the Bobbi Brown lipstick in Pale Plum that came in my POBM gift bag. It’s one of those versatile lipsticks that fits any occassion and suits my skintone perfectly. I reach for it often.

I’m also a bit of a latecomer to the whole ‘filling in your brows’ phenomenon. I’m usually too lazy to do it, but of late I’ve been finding that it really adds great structure to my face without looking like I’ve filled in my brows.  It’s great for framing my whole face and I wouldn’t be without it now. At the moment I’m just using MAC Mulch and an angled brush, but I shall have to look in to ‘proper’ brow pencils I think.

Best of all, this FOTD takes about five minutes and prevents me from looking too harried by my thesis.

For those of you who missed the backstory, in May of last year I was washing my face one morning, and when I finished I looked up into the mirror to find that my face was still looking down. Confronting times! The Australian sun had finally wrought its damage on my skin: sunspots, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, loss of facial volume, the lot. This is what you get when you go for years without wearing sunscreen.

Fed up with skincare products that were expensive and not particularly potent, I started to educate myself about proper skin maintenance and care, and it was at that point that I started to DIY my own serums and products.  To understand my journey in more detail, you can find my previous skin pics by clicking on the ‘skin pics’ tag at the bottom of this post.

So nine months on and in the height of an Australian summer, here are some photos to illustrate how I’m going so far.

Previously, I haven’t used full face shots like the ones below to describe my journey because I’ve found that they didn’t show enough detail. However, I’ve included some this time because I think they help to show the diffence in my facial volume. This photo was taken in May 2011:

This photo was taken yesterday:

Everything appears lifted. My brows are higher, I don’t have so much slackness around the jawline, my forehead looks firmer, and my whole face looks more sculpted.

Below is a photo of me smiling back in May 2011. Guess which side received all the sundamage whilst I was driving around for years without sunscreen. Yup, the left. Can you see how it scrunches up more that the right side when I smile? Not pretty:

The photo below was taken yesterday. You can see how my left side still scrunches up more than the right when I smile, but the effect is much less obvious than it was. I’m very happy about this.

Here we have a closeup of my eye (on the ‘sundamaged side’) in May 2011:

And below is a photo of the same area I took yesterday. Note the lessening of hyperpigmentation, the lift of the eyelid, the reduction of the nasolabial fold, and the refinement of the texture of my skin:

Below is a photo I took last October, a few months before I started incorporating facial exercises into my routine. You can see that the skin is in quite good condition, but the nasolabial folds are quite pronounced due to residual sun damage and genetics:

Here is a photo I took yesterday of my nasolabial folds. The are still present, but are significantly reduced. The facial exercise programme I’ve been doing has made a huge impact on this area. The nasolabial folds are still present, but much better:

The picture below was taken in May 2011, and I’ve included it because it helps to illustrate  what facial exercises and good skincare have been able to do for my hooded eyelids. Observe:

In contrast, the photo below was taken yesterday. Oh eyelids, how I missed you! There is so much more vibrancy and energy to my face! You can see here that the brow in the photo below is much higher than the photo above. Other facial exercises have also given me more fullness in the cheek, forehead, and mouth area. Love it:

Here we come to the more difficult stuff.

The photo below was taken last October. Again, note that my skin  is in reasonably good condition, but when I smile my lack of facial volume is immediately apparent. Rather than walk around looking like Posh for the rest of my life, I’ve been hoping that facial exercises will help to address this problem too:

And they have! Yay! there are still wrinkles present when I smile, but I’m a lot more comfortable with the way they look now:

Lastly, I wanted to smile and take a photo of the resulting wrinkles on each side of my face. This is my ‘driving side’ when I smile:

And this is my ‘non-driving side’. See the difference? I’d love for all the skin on my face to be like this. Learn from my mistakes people! Wear a zinc oxide sunscreen every day!

So what does all this mean in terms of makeup application?

Well, these days I don’t apply much. I used to apply full coverage foundations as a matter of course, but these days I skip the base. In the photo below I just have some concealer on under my eyes (I love you Ellis Faas concealer) but sometimes I don’t even bother with that. Eye makeup continues to be a must though (as you can see from the photos above) and I’ve been wearing eyeshadow, gel eyeliner, and lashings of mascara as usual.  Cheeks are usually just a little bronzer or blush, or perhaps both.

I’m really enjoying the extra size to my eyes, and my new-found eyelids! Makeup just looks so much better now, and my brows do a much better job of framing my whole face.

Here is my current routine:

********************

(morning)

-FlexEffect facial exercises (see the website here)

- Cleanser: ‘Easy Rinse’ Oil Cleansing Method using DIY cleanser with whatever oil I’m liking at the moment, Castor Oil, and Polysorbate 80. Applied with Tanaka Massage. (tutorial here)

- DIY MAP 10% Vitamin C serum

- DIY moisturiser with hyaluronic acid, macadamia nut oil, sea emollient, CoQ10, and Grape Seed Extract. Base recipe is here, but I changed a few things around for my version.

- DIY 20% Zinc Oxide Sunscreen (tutorial here)

********************

(evening)

- Cleanser: ‘Easy Rinse’ Oil Cleansing Method using DIY cleanser with whatever oil I’m liking at the moment, Castor Oil, and Polysorbate 80. Applied with Tanaka Massage. Removes makeup and whatever else I slapped on my face that day.

- Retin A 0.05% applied to face, neck, and chest.

- Kinetin/ NAG/ Niacinamide serum (tutorial here) OR Idebenone/ NAG/ Niacinamide serum (I haven’t done a tutorial on this, but visit Jen’s blog to see her excellent tutorial)

- DIY moisturiser

OR

- Cleanser: ‘Easy Rinse’ Oil Cleansing Method using DIY cleanser with whatever oil I’m liking at the moment, Castor Oil, and Polysorbate 80. Applied with Tanaka Massage. Removes makeup and whatever else I slapped on my face that day.

- Kinetin/ NAG/ Niacinamide serum OR Idebenone/ NAG/ Niacinamide

- DIY moisturiser

- Occasional exfoliation: Microfibre or Muslin cloth

- Lip Balm: Lanolips 101 Ointment

I also sleep on my back, rather than my side, every night (supported by a pillow under my knees) to avoid creasing on my face.

********************

Moreover, I’ve also been applying my serums and moisturisers (except Retin A) to my hands, which are notoriously difficult to keep pretty:

My hands also suffered from years of sundamage, and along with applying all my facial skincare to my hands, I wear gloves every time I drive to protect them. I wash my hands so much that sunscreen would be quite ineffectual, so gloves keep my hands sun free.

By the way, the polish is OPI Dulce de Leche, thanks to Angela. Isn’t it great? Thanks Angela!

My approach to skincare can be boiled down to three points:

1. DIY, potent actives, and a zinc oxide sunscreen every day;

2. Facial exercise to help address a loss of facial volume as I age;

3. Proper diet and exercise (details on that here)

The serums and skincare I make have gone a long way to promoting collagen production and improving the look of my skin, but years of sundamage had left my face looking a bit slack. I’ve only been doing the full FlexEffect programme for a week (a week!) and I’m already seeing amazing results: more fullness in the cheeks and forehead, the return of my eyelids, a brow lift, more neck firmness, sharper jawline, and significantly reduced nasolabial folds. Bear in mind that it does take about half an hour each day, but for me the results are worth it.

If you are interested in facial exercises but don’t want to pay for a full system, there are many on YouTube that you can try to see if it’s the right thing for you.

Oh yes, and do try out some DIY skincare. It’s easy to put together, very potent, and cheap as chips

Well, Natasha, the owner of SEA, has started her own blog, and I’m thoroughly addicted. What can I say? She’s a genius.  There’s nothing she doesn’t know about putting together serums, peels, moisturisers and a host of other skincare.

The SEA blog contains tutorials and really useful information for DIY skincare makers, and everything is set out with clear photos and instructions.

I was fed up with my dry skin last night, so after I finished writing for the day I made an antioxidant moisturiser based on the base lotion/ creme recipe Natasha demonstrated on her blog. Instead of the B5 used in the recipe, I added CoQ10 and Grapeseed Extract, and my skin loves it!

If you’re into DIY Skincare, I strongly encourage you to have a look. I’ve found the batch size calculator super handy for converting percentages to grams quickly, and the information on acids and pH is really useful too.

A coffee’s worth of further googling has got me very interested in these polishes indeed. And let’s face it, if Olivia recommends it, it has to be good!

Launched in 2007 in Japan, but based in Chicago, Man Glaze is a nail polish designed for men.

The polishes come in a matte shimmer finish, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen in another nail polish. Matte nail polishes have never appealed to me, but I find the matte/ shimmer look quite appealing.

It’s designed to be very hard wearing, dead easy to apply, and opaque in two coats. At between $6 and $13, they’re not too expensive either.

The names of the polishes have a similar feel to the visuals, with names like “F*ck off and Dye” (Vivid Pink), “Fuggen Ugly” (Grey), and “Hot Mess” (glitter top coat). They even sell empty nail polish jars (Franken Jugg’s Franken-Steins) for mixing your own custom colours. A quick google image search will quickly give you an idea of the colour range and finish of the polishes, and check out Olivia’s review of “F*ck off and Dye”‘ here.

The only downside is that they don’t ship to Australia at this time, so you’ll have to prevail on a US friend or package forwarding to get your hands on them. People in the UK can buy from NailBiz.

I finally just caved in and scoffed all four of them, and they were stunning. As I said in my last post: who knew that raw food could taste this good? These chocolates are soy, dairy, gluten, and refined sugar free, but taste amazing. My favourite is the cherry chocolate.

The venue was generously provided by Djurra Salon and Spa in Fremantle, which I would love to come back to for a treatment. It was a lovely space.

When we arrived at Djura, each person was treated to a relaxing massage with essential oils. I loved this! After three hours driving to get to the event (the traffic was pretty bad) it was wonderful to relax and start enjoying the day. I’d love to have this done every day.

Here is Megan from BeautyInTheSky enjoying her massage:

And Haley from PeachyClean:

After the massages, it was time for some food. As much as I love eating well, I’ve never actually tried ‘raw food’ as such, and this was my first opportunity to do so.

As you can see, the food was stunning. Everything was fresh, beautifully prepared, and really filling. This type of catering leaves the old Subway platter for dead (which is what we would always get at my last workplace) and I will be recommending TheRawKitchen catering to everyone. Those Emma and Tom’s juices were stunning too. Must investigate further!

Below you can see Annette from WellnessWA getting the proverbial party started:

Then, of course, you can’t have a beauty event without a makeup swap! Everyone was to bring three new or barely used products for a swap at the end of the event. This is a great opportunity to try new products.

The goodie bags were absolutely phenomenal! We got two each, and they were filled with products from 30 different companies. I have no idea how Annette managed to co-ordinate (or even carry) all of these. They were seriously full!

We also got to take home some fantastic Aveda products courtesy of Aveda and Djura. I’ve never actually tried anything from Aveda, so I’m looking forward to trying these out.

Anita Sutton from Djurra spoke to us about what inspired her to move away from the traditional salons and spas to a more natural approach to beauty. I must say, I’ve never really thought much about ‘natural’ salons, but I like the concept. I’m so picky with what I put on my face these days, that it makes sense to find a salon that has the same mindset.

Then Naturopath Adele Plumridge spoke to us about ways to lead a healthier lifestyle. She talked about the importance of wearing a Zinc Oxide sunscreen every day, cutting back on coffee, getting enough protein in your diet, and so on.

Then it was time for more pedicures provided by the team at Djurra, and lots more chat. This is the point at which we started to investigate the goodie bags, hence the smiles in the photos below.

Here I am with Anissa from BeautifullyGlossy (left) and Suzanne from Don’tTheyKnowWhoIAm? (right).

More WA beauty bloggers: (from left) Megan from BeautyInTheSky, Suzanne from Don’tTheyKnowWhoIAm?, Hannah from BeautyDownUnder, and Anissa from BeautifullyGlossy.

(From left) Anissa, Megan, Me, Annette (WellnessWA), Hannah, and Suzanne.

(From left) Me, Anissa, Hayley, Megan, and Annette.

At the end of the day we did our makeup swap, and went home with even *more* products to try.

Even better, Anissa and Hannah won fantastic prizes from Endota spa (which Annette tells me is opening in the city soon) and I’m looking forward to posts from both of them on their prizes!

It was a great day, and I thank Annette and all the sponsors for their generosity!

In the meantime, wear sunscreen, try NARS Deep Throat Blush (which I’m finally liking), and be well. I’m about to develop a coffee habit that would shame the whole of Italy.

“I hugg my Quiet, and alone

Take thee for my Companion,

And deem in doing so, I’ve all

I can True Conversation call:

For so my Thoughts by this retreat

Grow stronger, like contracted heat.

Whether on Natures Book I muse,

Or else some other writes on’t, use

To spend the time in, every line,

Is not excentrick but Divine.”

- Mildmay Fane, “To Retiredness”, 1648.

Instead of writing exclusively about products, I thought I’d also regale you with makeup techniques, skincare approaches, lifestyle changes, and so on, that have made the biggest difference to how I look and feel in 2011.

1.  Gel liner, Models Prefer brushes, heated lash curler, Princess Lee false lashes: I used to use liquid liner every day, but somehow fell out of the habit when I found Lancome’s Le Stylo Waterproof in Cafe, which is the only pencil eyeliner which doesn’t end up halfway down my face by mid-morning.

However, when Suzanne kindly gifted me two Models Prefer brushes, I reached for my neglected pot of MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack and never looked back. I love the way winged liner gives a gorgeous almond shape to the eyes. Tightlining on my eyes is also must as my lashes are quite ‘high’, but it’s made so much simpler with the Models Prefer smudge brush which is much more comfortable to stamp onto my eye than a traditional push brush. With practice, winged liner is very quick to do and lasts all day with Blacktrack, which is great news if you have oily lids like me.

I have also rediscovered my heated lash curler thanks to Jen’s post. If you have one of these, get it out and use it. Once you get the technique sorted, you will discover that it curls your lashes like nothing else, and holds that curl all day.

Princess Lee false lashes are still the most natural looking strip lashes I’ve found. Easy to apply and so very flattering to the eye. As I have an allergy to latex I’ve stopped using Duo Lash Adhesive and have been using the Revlon variant instead with no problems. I love how big these false lashes make my eyes look, without crossing into drag queen territory.

For an idea of just how much winged liner and lashes can open up your eye, have a look at Lisa Eldridge’s Audrey Hepburn tutorial here and Valentine’s Day look here. So elegant.

2.  Lighter eyeshadow: Now that I actually have eyelids to display thanks to these exercises, I’ve been enjoying lighter eyeshadows and a return to creasework. MAC’s All That Glitters is such a beautiful shade, and works so well all over the eye or with MAC Bronze eyeshadow in the crease. Fantastic with the aforementioned winged liner.

It is not just for the colour that I love these two shadows (although the colours are lovely), but the formula is about as close to perfection as you can get in eyeshadow. We all know how hit and miss MAC shadows can be, but with these two I think MAC has got it right.

3.  Bronzer: This year I’ve actually discovered how to use bronzer. I apply it with a MAC 134 paddle brush to my cheeks and temples, as a sort of poor-man’s contouring, and I’ve been loving the result. Not only does it add warmth to my face, but it gives me instant cheekbones.

My current favourites are Korres Monoi Bronzer in 01 and Le Metier de Beaute’s bronzer in their Flawless Face kit. Both are excellent for fair skins.

4.  Ellis Faas base: As my skin has improved considerably in 2011 I like to skip base where I can, but when I do reach for something it is always Ellis Faas Skin Veil and concealer.

I only use a tiny amount of Ellis Faas Skin Veil and it evens out my skintone and gives me a healthy glow. It also lasts all day, never streaks, and is so comfortable on my skin. It works well over sunscreen too.

Ellis Faas concealer is just as stellar. The pen is easy to use, and I just twist and apply a tiny amount of concealer under my eyes, around my nose, and on any discolouration I might have. As with all concealers, I leave it for about five seconds on my skin to warm (so I don’t just wipe away the product) and then blend out with my fingers. This concealer blends with my skin seamlessly and never pools in creases or catches on dry skin. Love.

5.  DIY skincare: It probably comes as no surprise that I’m in love with DIY skincare. The difference it has made to my skin in just six months is phenomenal. I urge you to try it.

6.  Food: Finally learning how to eat well and take control over my binge eating has been a revelation for me. I no longer feel like food controls me, and I feel energetic and healthy. Here is an outline of the way I now eat.

7.  Hair: I’m very lucky to have found a wonderful hair salon in Toni & Guy Cottesloe. They get the colour and cut of my hair right every time, and I’m very grateful for their expertise and generosity.

Without doubt, this DIY hair tonic has made a huge difference to the quality of my hair too. Not only does it give me much more volume, but I have sprouted new little hair follicles, and my existing hair has grown more quickly. I actually spray it all over my hair when I get out of the shower, as well as applying it directly to the roots, and I still can’t believe how soft it makes my hair.

8.  Red Lipstick: This never really went away, but red lipstick has become even more of a joy of late. Many red lipsticks can be applied as a stain so that you don’t have to fear it migrating to your teeth or hair during dinner, and something like Dolce & Gabanna’s Sheer Shine #130 is the perfect glossy orange-red to throw on as you’re heading out the door in summer, and wears off so evenly. I love this lipstick paired with little to no base, winged liner, All That Glitters on the lid, and bronzer on cheeks and temples. Very modern. For a swatch of Dolce & Gabanna #130, my other reds, and other lipsticks, see this post.

So happy that I got my hands on the discontinued Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Dragon too.

9.  Edward Bess cream products: I won these from the delightful LipstickLuvvies (a great blog – go and read it!), and I’ve been using them constantly ever since. The blush in Love Affair and highlighter in All Over Seduction blend with the skin so beautifully and look imperceptable on the skin. They also last much longer on the skin that most cream products. Needless to say, they are always with me. I really must do a post on them.

10.  Head and Shoulders as deodorant: Last summer I could not find a deodorant that kept me stink-free, until I discovered that there is an ingredient in Head and Shoulders that actually prevents the growth of stink-causing bacteria. Now I wash my armpits with Head and Shoulders in the shower, dry off as normal, and go about my day. I have never used such an effective deodorant, and am so happy that I don’t end up smelly by midday any more.

11.  Vintage clothing and Diane Von Furstenburg: Oh how I love vintage clothing. I love the cut, the fabric, and the feminine look of vintage clothes. My collection features dresses from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, and I love them all. My favouite seller is still Nena from JolieVintageShop on Etsy, but she’s away at Law School at present. However, she will be back mid-year on her break, and I’m looking forward to her shop re-opening!

I also adore Diane Von Furstenburg dresses. If you ever see one in a shop, I urge you to try it on. Damn that woman knows how to cut a dress.

Dress: Table Eight (picked up in the Myer Mid-Year Sale for $20)

Shoes: Michael Kors (Ebay)

Bracelet: Tiffany & Co.

Ring: Gift from Chris a few years ago

Nails: Zoya Isla + China Glaze Ruby Pumps

Necklace: Smales

Foundation: Ellis Faas Skin Veil

Concealer: Ellis Faas

Bronzer: Le Metier de Beaute

Eyeshadow: MAC All That Glitters and MAC Bronze

Gel Liner: MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack

Lashes: Princess Lee Cross 7

Lipstick: Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Dragon

Higlight: Le Metier de Beaute in Whisper

Blush: Le Metier de Beaute in Echo

Now I’m off to bed

No surprises for guessing what ended up on my fingernails this Christmas. That’s right! My favourite combination: Zoya Isla and China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

Here is Zoya Isla on it’s own. Pretty!

…and here it is with China Glaze Ruby Pumps over the top:

Gorgeous.

I also picked up Sally Hansen Complete Care to use as a base and top coat. I’ll have to report back on wear time, but so far, so good! Gives a nice shine to the nail, and nailpolish seems to bond to it as a base coat too.

On my toes, I chose China Glaze Touch of Glamour, which is a nude peachy colour with gold flecks through it. I’m not a huge fan of colour on the toes, but I think a nude colour makes feet look a bit more polished in summer:

Yup. The nailpolish is the best looking part of my feet. That means it’s doing it’s job!

Right, I’m off to get my winged liner on.

Firstly, my hair is difficult to curl. It is straight in every picture you see of me because straight is all it does. I’ve tried setting sprays, velcro curlers, hot rollers, curling irons of various sorts, and none of them hold curl in my hair for more than an hour. The only thing I’ve tried that works is the GHD Flat Iron.

So, Exhibit A. Me with my usual, straight hair, and glasses off because that only complicates things. Hair is washed and ready to go.

Make sure your hair is completely dry before you use a flat iron on it or the heat will boil your hair.

I don’t bother with heat protecting sprays. With the amount of heat that’s coming out of the GHD, nothing’s really going to protect your hair effectively, so just use the GHD infrequently instead.

I’ve got quite a lot of hair, so the GHD has definitely got its work cut out.

Firstly, I part my hair from the top of both ears ’round to the back. I did have one of those grabby clip things, but I can’t find it so I’m just using hair ties here.

Brush through this section of hair. I’m using a Tangle Teezer, but just use whatever you have.

Grab a small section of hair. The thicker the section, the looser the curl will be.

Brush through the section.

Apply the GHD to the hair.

Clamp it.

Then rotate the GHD 180 degrees either towards or away from you, and drag it through the section in this position.

The speed at which you drag it has an impact on the curl: faster, and the curl is loose; slower, and the curl is tighter.

And this is more or less how it turns out.

Keep curling sections of hair until they are all done.

Spray and scrunch with hairspray. I use Elnett because it’s lightweight and can be brushed out easily, even when you’ve applied a lot.

Let out your hair and take a second parting from both temples ’round to the back.

Tie up you hair again and start curling the straight sections of hair that have fallen onto the curls below.

Take a small section, brush it, and then curl as before.

You may like to twist the section of hair around after you curl it. I know my hairdresser does this for every curl! It just helps to ‘set’ the curl. This is up to you though.

Keep curling sections until everything is curly! Spray with hairspray.

Then let out the final section and start curling. Be sure not to drag your hair down, but curl each piece up and away from the scalp to create a little volume.

Spray the whole lot with hair spray.

It should end up looking a bit like the photo above.

Now, because I like lots of bounce and volume, when my curls have cooled, I brush through them all.

It will go all floofy like this.

In order to achieve nice soft curls *and* volume, I spray and scrunch hairspray into my hair.

Keep doing this until you get the right amount of curl definiton and hold for you. Personally, I like to do this at least four times, and using Elnett means that you don’t get any product build-up in your hair.

Yay, volume and curls!

To make it last for a second day, jut pin your hair into a topknot before you go to bed. In the morning just brush it out, then spray and scrunch a few times, and you’re good to go!

I enjoy wearing full strip lashes, but depending on the type that you buy they can be difficult to put on and rather obvious on the eye. The Princess Lee lashes (in Cross 7 Black, reviewed here and available here) in this tutorial are still the most natural full strip lashes I’ve found to date. I find MAC #7 too uniform and fake-looking, Ardell Wipsies too full on, Ardell #117 even more full on that that, Red Cherry the most fake-looking of them all, and so on. Of course, it depends what look you’re going for, but personally I’m not a fan of  Kim K lashes at all; I like false lashes to add drama without going over the top. For me that means looking for a full strip lash that has:

- a very flexible band to help it stay glued throughout the night, and add comfort;

- a criss-cross, ‘messy’ arrangement of lashes that more closely mimics real lashes;

- lashes that are smaller at the inner corner and longer at the outer, to give a ‘cat eye’ effect. I find that the ones that are longer in the middle look terribly fake, and are usually so big they almost reach my eyebrow!

-nothing too plastic or shiny looking.

False lashes are great for glasses wearers like me when you need a bit more definition around the eye, and look fantastic in photographs.

So, this is the way I apply them.

First, apply your eyeshadow and curl your lashes.

Apply one coat of mascara to hold the curl. This will give you a ‘guide’ for the rest of the look, and ensure that you are ready to curl your lashes with a heated curler later.

Choose your lashes.

I love Duo Lash Glue in either the clear or black formulations, but unfortunately I’m allergic to it; it makes my eyes go red in about five minutes.

Fortunately, it seems that pretty much every other lash glue on the market is latex-free, so I’m using Revlon Precision Lash Adhesive that I picked up from Priceline. Latex-free lash glues are not as comfortable as the Duo glue as they don’t have the extra cushioning provided by the latex. However, in terms of actually sticking the lash down, this latex-free version seems to work fine.

Paint on your liner. Here I’ve gone for winged liner with MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack (tutorial here).

Curl your lashes with your heated curler, concentrating on getting heat to the base of the lashes.

Apply your second coat of mascara to hold the curl.

Grab your strip lash. In this case I’m using my beloved Princess Lee Cross 7 Black.

Check that the lash isn’t too long for your eye. If it is too long, trim some of the longest lashes from the outer edge of the lash.

These fit with no problem on my eye.

Apply the lash glue, adding an extra glob to the inner and outer corners where the lash is most likely to lift. Wait about 20 seconds for the lash glue to begin to dry.

Apply your lash.

Start by applying the lash as close and you can to the base of your own lashes.

Adjust the lash so that it’s not too far to the right or left, and the whole strip lash is as close to the root of your lashes as possible.

Don’t panic! Take your time, and if it doesn’t work, just take it off, apply some more glue, wait 20 seconds, and try again.

Some like to adjust lashes with tweezers, but I prefer to use my fingers.

You can see that the glue is still visible because it is wet. When it dries, it will become clear.

Lashes on.

Quick comparison between eyes: lashed and non-lashed.

Apply lashes to your other eye.

Make sure both lash strips are on the same angle. You don’t want one facing skyward and the other facing dead ahead.

Both lashes applied.

Get your heated lash curler and ensure that your lashes have combined with the false lashes.

Apply one last layer of mascara to fuse your natural lashes with the false ones. I only apply mascara to the bottom third of the lashes as a I like to reuse my false lashes, and I find the heated curler helps everything fuse well anyway.

Apply the rest of your makeup.

Done!

Here’s a quick comaprison between a photograph WITH false lashes:

And one without:

In real life the difference would not be so pronounced, but if you’re being photographed false lashes give great definition to the eye area.

The Princess Lee lashes also don’t look too much when you look down, which is when over the top lashes start to look a bit drag queen-ish.

They also look great behind specs, and don’t touch the lenses at all.

And there you have it!