My Style Diary - Polka Dots

These photos were taken back in March and I've been a little tardy with sharing them! I absolutely love this dress - the polka dot fabric is so fun and fresh and the fitted bodice with the flared out skirt is right up my alley.  It's definitely on the shorter side, but given that I love everything else about it, that can be forgiven ;)
Paired with red lipstick and Ray Ban sunnies (which I forgot to wear for the photos!) it definitely has a bit of a 1950's/Taylor Swift feel to it. (You know I love Taylor Swift!)

The day these photos were taken, I had brunch with a couple of my friends (my bridesmaids!) and then we went wedding dress shopping for the first time! It was a pretty fun and exciting day, but it was also a little overwhelming because we went on a Saturday and it was so busy! If you happen to also be wedding dress shopping, I definitely recommend going on a weekday if possible because the experience is so much better and more personal!

Anyway, I'll leave it at that for today - trying to keep it short and sweet after last weeks mammoth post! ;)

I hope you're having a great day!

Lauren
xxx

Dress - Mooloola - from City Beach Surfwear

Sandals - Windsor Smith

Watch - Calvin Klein

A Very Special Day on Cradle Mountain - Our Engagement Story

Heya! :)

I'm finally sharing these photos from December, our second last day in Tassie - the day that we spent about seven hours hiking around Cradle Mountain, and the day Tom proposed!!

Even though Tom and I had talked about getting engaged for a while (we'd been together for 6 years at that point), I honestly didn't think it was going to happen on this particular trip, so when Tom proposed at the (almost) top of Cradle Mountain, I was so surprised!

It was actually a spontaneous proposal, Tom hadn't been planning on doing it that day, so it was a bit of a surprise for him too! hehe ;)

Tom told me afterwards that he'd been trying for a while to think of the best way to propose - something that wasn't too corny or overdone, but that would be really special, and while we were walking along this plateau boardwalk area, amongst the beautiful mountain scenery with no-one else around, the perfect moment just sort of presented itself! We were sitting down on a step having a rest,  I got up to continue on when Tom said "Just wait a moment ... I guess this is as good a time as any... I could plan and plan, but I don't know when we're going to have a setting as amazing as this... so..." 

After that point, I actually can't remember anything else he said, as I was completely surprised. I just teared up and kept saying "Really?! Are you serious?!"  over and over while giving him a big hug and eventually saying "Yes of course!". My response was kinda ridiculous, but I'd been thinking about this moment for a while, and my brain just wasn't processing the fact that it was actually really happening! 

(Thank god no-one else was around to see it though! It would have been very embarrassing!)

So after that, we actually had another four hours to walk back, and the route we took ended up being way more difficult than the way we'd come! There were points where we were scrambling over rocks and thinking ... "we better not fall because there's no-one around and no phone reception!" It was a great walk though, and it gave us a little time to let it sink in - we were super excited and happy, but we didn't really feel any different!

I'd actually been a little grumpy before, after 3 hours walking in the sun and having a little stumble, but after the proposal I couldn't have been happier! My mum joked that Tom knew he needed to cheer me up so that's why he proposed at that moment! When we told Tom's parents, his mum was like "Well you're lucky she said yes - that could have been a very awkward walk back if she'd said no!" ;)

It was such a special and perfect moment and Tom really did a great job at surprising me (and himself too actually!) When we got back to Perth we went and looked at rings together and ended up having a beautiful ring custom made. I honestly couldn't be happier and I really do feel like the luckiest girl in the world. It sound's so cheesy but it's true!

I know this is a very personal thing to be sharing, but I've said it many times before, this blog is like a diary and I love looking back at it, so of course I wanted to document this very special moment here. 

 I'm looking forward to blogging more about our wedding planning so hopefully you'll enjoy seeing  few wedding related posts!

Lots of Love

Lauren

xxx

My Travel Makeup Bag (basically all my favourite products)

I'm currently down south in Margaret River for a long weekend getaway, so I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at the contents of my travel makeup bag. These photos were actually taken during our Tassie holiday (and I never got around to sharing them), but everything is pretty much the same!

While I do have a fairly extensive collection of makeup, I tend to stick with my tried and tested favourites the majority of the time, but particularly when it comes to travelling. I usually go for a fairly simple look with light, shimmery shadow on the eyes and a brighter lip. 

This is basically what I use on a day to day basis, my "Capsule Makeup Collection" if you will...

1. Shiseido Natural Finish Cream Concealer - I love this concealer because, as the name suggests, it does have a lovely natural finish, but also decent coverage. I like a really natural look to my makeup, so instead of wearing foundation, I tend to just pat this concealer onto any problem areas (mainly on redness around my nose and under my darker under-eye area), and then lightly dust a powder over to set. It gives a more polished look than bare skin, but still keeps things very natural. Pretty much a "no-makeup makeup look". I have also been loving the Shiseido Sheer Eye Zone Corrector. It's technically for around the eye area,  but I use it around my nose and chin too, just to cover any redness and it works well for me. I love the brightening effect it has. 

2. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder - Dim Light - If you read pretty much any beauty blog you would have heard of this product range before. The idea is the different powders "mimic the effect of the most flattering light", softening the way light reflects on the skin and concealing imperfections. I use this powder pretty much everyday, and I really do love the soft effect it gives. Particularly as someone who doesn't wear foundation on a regular basis, I love the overall smoothing and brightening effect it has - it's barely detectable, but just makes the skin look that little bit more perfect. 

3. Nars Laguna Bronzer - My favourite (and only) bronzer. I've nearly used this all up and will be repurchasing when I do. 

4. Mac Eyeshadow Quad - Brulé, Arena, All That Glitters, Wedge - I love that you can build your own mac palette and the quad is perfect for travel. These four have been my standard "everyday" eyeshadows for a long time now. I use either Arena or All That Glitters all over the lid, Wedge in the crease and Brulé just under the brow. It's light and shimmery and very brightening which I love. I don't often wear eyeliner but when I do I usually just use a darker shadow along the lashline which gives a softer effect. If I'm just bringing the one eyeshadow palette, I'll usually swap out Arena for Mac's Espresso eyeshadow. 

5. Urban Decay Naked2 Eyeshadow Palette - This is the only thing I haven't brought with me on this trip. It's a great palette with a large range of shades, but I do prefer the quality of Mac shadows. I just find them a little easier to work with so tend to reach for them first. This palette is great for travel though as it has everything you need (including a black shadow which I use as eyeliner). 

6. Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil - Soft Brunette - I purchased this pencil after watching countless youtube reviews of different brow products and hearing people rave about this particular one. I haven't tried any others, so I don't have anything to compare this to, but I'm onto my second one and still liking it so it gets a thumbs up from me. 

7. Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara. This mascara gives pretty dramatic lashes which I like, but my favourite and the one I'll go back to once I've finished with this is the Maybelline Full 'N Soft. I prefer the more natural look it gives, but it can still be built up to give a nice full, thick look. I also always curl my lashes first with the Shu Uemura eyelash curler (the best eyelash curler ever - definitely worth the higher price tag)

8. Revlon Just Bitten Kissible Balm Stain - Crush - I love these balm stains because they really are a great stain. Apply, blot and they'll stay for hours. This particular colour is really beautiful. It's  pretty dark and intense when first applied, but once blotted it's a beautiful deep berry/pink that's very wearable.

9. Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil - Dragon Girl - This will forever be my favourite red. It's bright and bold but with a hint of pink that makes it really wearable, and the fact that it's matte means it lasts well and you don't have to worry about it ending up on your teeth! (A problem I had with the Nars Satin Lip Pencils). Also, this is apparently the lipstick that Taylor Swift wears ;)

10. Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet - Nude-ist - My current favourite nude liquid lipstick for when I don't feel like wearing anything too bright. As you can see I like to bring a few different lip products - usually one red, one berry and something a little more natural. This one is definitely on the darker, more pinky side of nudes which is the only nude I ever really go for. I like the matte formula although it can be a little drying, so I'll probably look for something different when this one runs out. Anyone have any suggestions for a similar shade? 

11. Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush - Exposed - My favourite blush that goes with every makeup look. I have quite a collection of blushes (and I do switch them up fairly often), but when I travel this is always the one I bring as it looks good no matter what lip colour or eyeshadow you're wearing. 

I hope you enjoyed this little look into my makeup bag. I always find it interesting to see what people bring with them when they travel (I love watching those videos on youtube - they're a real guilty pleasure!) What are your favourite travelling makeup products?

Lots of Love

Lauren

xxx

We're Engaged!

Hello hello :)

I have some very exciting - although rather belated - news to share...

Back in December, on our second last day in Tasmania, Tom and I got engaged!!! 

(I kept that pretty quiet didn't I?) 

I honestly don't know why it's taken me so long to share this news here on the blog, but we've actually only just put it up on facebook, so I guess we're just a little slow with the social media announcements!

We are so excited and happy to be getting married and these past few months have been so blissful (and flown by so quickly!)

I'll definitely share a little more of our engagement story soon (the proposal happened up on Cradle Mountain!) and hopefully a little bit of the wedding planning too -  I want to record this very special and exciting time in our lives!

I hope you're having a great Friday night :)

Tom and I are down in Margaret River for the weekend and I'm curled up on the sofa next to a crackling fire, which is basically the coziest, most relaxing thing I can imagine so I'm pretty happy right now.

Lots of Love

Lauren

xxx