London VLOG | Week Two | Camden, Panic! at the Disco concert & Exploring...

I got up to some pretty cool stuff during my second week in London - leaving was the hardest thing to do, but I know I'll be back soon enough!

Highlights;
- Camden Market (specifically the food stores, whoops)
- Panic! at the Disco live at Alexandra Palace (I literally cannot describe how perfect they are, you'll just have to watch the vlog!)
- Pub meals #classy
- Family time (always a good thing)

Anyway, the vlog is up there ^ so check it out!

x Chontelle

New Mac Lipsticks | Twig & Blankety

Less than a year ago, I purchased my first Mac lipstick. I've quickly become obsessed. I've been slowly growing my collection over the year, so of course I was ecstatic when my Aunt got me two new lippies (chosen with my guidance, of course) as an early Christmas present while I was staying with her in London last month.

I'm one of those people who are crazy about lists and checking things off of lists, and these two were up near the top of my 'lipstick wishlist'. 

Twig

I wanted a deep pinky-brown, and Twig was the ideal lipstick to fill that void. The colour is described as a 'soft muted borwnish-pink' which is totally accurate and falls perfectly into the brown lips 90's trend that's big right now (and I personally love). Twig is a Satin finish, which is my favourite as you still get the look of a Matte lipstick but it's more comfortable and seems to look nicer throughout the day. The colour is really flattering on my pale skin and brown eyes, it's not too dark but dark enough to stand out.

Blankety

Blankety was one I wasn't too sure about as I loved the colour but a) wasn't sure if it was too much of a light nude-pink for me, and b) didn't know if I'd like the Amplified Creme finish. Nevertheless, it remained on my wishlist and I've ended up really liking it! Blankety is described as a soft pink beige, which is about as good of a description I could come up with although nude may be a better descriptive than beige. Still, it's lovely. The colour shows up a bit more nude on my lips than it does in the swatch, which I feel is fine however I think it looks better over a deeper nude/pink/mauve lipliner. The Amplified finish is actually really nice, and the colour is just as opaque as it is with a Matte or Satin finish, so A+ for that! Blankety is really just a lovely everyday wear kinda colour, which I'm happy to have in my collection.

Which of these lipsticks do you like the best? Let me know your thoughts below!

x Chontelle

London VLOG | Week One | Oxford St, Sightseeing, Harrods & Brighton!

So in November I boarded a big jet plane (or two Emirates A380's, po-tay-to po-tah-to( and went to London for a while! I am literally in love with that city, there's so much going on and it's a pretty nice place to live as far as my insta-feed is concerned #priorities. Anyway. I vlogged the whole thing and edited the footage together (and after a nightmare where iMovie decided to do it's best to give me an actual heart attack and destroy all my hard work, tyvm iMovie) and uploaded it to my YouTube channel!

So here's my first week in London, enjoy!

x Chontelle

Room Tour 2016 | Minimal Decor

Hey guys, I've *finally* put together my 2016 room tour video! I got a little bit creative with this one, so I hope you like it (I'll admit, I'm still a beginner with editing but I'm getting there and I'm pretty pleased with how this one turned out)!



Check it out and let me know your thoughts!



x Chontelle

Rosefield Watch Review | The Bowery

Back in July, I was gifted my very first 'good quality' watch (thanks mum)! It was one I'd had my eyes on for months, since stumbling across a photo of one of the watches in the 'popular posts' section of Instagram. Finally, about 6 months later on my 20th Birthday, I had my very own Rosefield Bowery Watch.

Rosefield is an up-and-coming watch brand based in Amsterdam, offering a wide range of affordable, great quality, minimalistic watches. They currently have four styles on offer; the classic Mercer - a mesh chain watch in either Gold, Silver, or the popular Rose Gold; the Grammercy - a sharp-looking watch face with a real Italian leather straight-cut band; the Bowery - with a more classic looking watch face and a stitched real Italian leather band; and finally the Tribeca collection, which is basically a smaller, more delicate version of the Bowery.

As you can see, I went with the Bowery with silver hardware and a grey stitched band. I was tossing up between this one and the Mercer, but I chose the Bowery because the leather bands are actually interchangeable which means if I want to get a new look, I can just buy a different coloured band for about $35 and I'm good!

I've been wearing this watch pretty much all the time since getting it, and because it's a nice, neutral colour and minimal design, it goes with everything! It's comfortable on my wrist, easy to read (especially with my terrible eyesight), and all-round just the perfect everyday staple accessory. I'm already looking into getting the black, pink, and possibly brown and navy interchangeable bands so I can start switching it up.

Also, if you're not living in Europe then this could be the perfect choice for you as you'll get a pretty good discount by not having to pay the European VAT Tax (Bringing the watch down from around $150aud to around $115aud). There's also free shipping on all orders including international orders, even a single $35 band, which is super convenient.

I love my Rosefield Bowery Watch, and I'd love to know what you think of it! Have you heard of the brand? Do you own any of their watches, or are you interested in getting one? Let me know!

You can check out the selection of Rosefield Watches here.

x Chontelle

New Hair at Trendz Studio Brisbane

Back in August, I was the unfortunate victim of a hair disaster after giving a new, too-affordable hairdresser in the city permission to colour my hair. While the condition of my hair wasn't affected much, I was left with a super dark, ashy brown hair colour with choppy ashy-to-grey blonde highlights throughout the top. Needless to say, it was a huge knock to my confidence and I found myself desperately searching for a good hairdresser that could fix the mess.

I discovered Trendz Studio, a salon well-known for their blonde and balayage with studios in Cleveland (Brisbane's Southern Suburbs) and the Gold Coast. I went to the Cleveland studio as it was the closest to me of the two. If you're thinking of booking with them, be warned - you need to book in advance, or be able to drop in at a day's notice (or even the same day) as they are so popular that they are often booked out for several weeks in advance and the only way to nab an earlier appointment is by taking over a cancellation. It's totally worth it though! Personally, I booked around mid to late September for my appointment on the 26th of October, which was one of the earliest available.

I arrived with a few pictures of my ultimate goal colour in hand, knowing I'd probably need to come back for a second appointment to reach the exact colour I want (and knowing me and my indecisive-ness, I'll probably keep wanting to change something anyway). The girl doing my hair was lovely and we discussed what I was wanting and what we were going to do, I felt pretty confident with everything by the time we started on my hair.

The appointment took approximately three and a half hours, and I've gotta say I was pretty darn pleased with the end result! I went from drab and dull ashy brown, to a gorgeous neutral-toned brown to blonde balayage! I really didn't think my hair would lighten so much in one go, and it was so healthy afterwards (possibly more so than before - and likely thanks to the Olaplex treatment they used). It only cost me $320 including a root colour to diffuse the previous choppy highlights, which was cheaper than some of the mainstream and popular options around Brisbane which was great!

I did end up going back a week later to have a warmer toner run through my hair to resemble the tones I had wanted, as my hair had a few too many ashy tones the first time around. The toner was complimentary, and gave me the warmth I needed!

I'm really happy with my new hair, just in time for my upcoming trip to London and Europe, and then summer back home straight afterwards!

Check out Trendz Studio's amazing Instagram feed here!

What do you think of my new hair? Have you had any big hair changes lately, or any salon horror stories you'd like to share? Let me know with a comment below!

x Chontelle

Lace Detail & Dressy Shorts

Cami - Forever New, Shorts - Dissh, Watch - Rosefield Bowery, Bracelet - Butterfly Silver, Sandals - Famous Footwear.

It's getting hot here in Brisbane. It was 29 degrees today, and Spring has only just begun! I was actually considering bringing a cardigan into the city for uni today, but I'm glad I reconsidered. I got these shorts from Dissh earlier this year, and I've been looking forward to wearing them again ever since the cooler weather hit - they're just super cute and fun, and I love how they can dress up an otherwise casual outfit.

I also made a pretty amazing discovery the other day - Starbucks Australia finally has my all-time favourite drink on their menu, the Pumpkin Spice Latte! I grabbed one on the walk into uni today and it was every bit as delicious as I remembered!

I haven't been very active here of late, and I just wanted to address that quickly! I've been lacking motivation, and I think that's largely because my blog has been heading in a direction that I'm not passionate about. You've probably noticed an influx of beauty posts - which don't get me wrong, I love a good product review every now and again but it's not what I'm passionate about - along with other random posts that are all over the place. When I started this blog, I wanted it to be predominantly about my personal style as well as travel, with the odd lifestyle post thrown in here and there. That's what I'm really passionate about, and so I'm going to be moving toward a more 'streamlined' genre of style, travel and lifestyle from here on out. I hope you'll join me as my blog evolves to, well, what it was always intended to be!

x Chontelle

September Favourites 2016

I've filmed my September favourites for you guys, and it's live on my channel now! I've especially been loving my Chocolate Bar palette, Forever New lace cami's and Zoella's vlogs! Check it out, and leave a comment down below letting me know what your favourites were this month!



x Chontelle

Mac's 'Diva' Lipstick | Review

Okay, so I've got yet another Mac lipstick review for you today. I know, I know - Mac lipsticks are clearly fast becoming my downfall, but they're just so good!

As you know, I love my pinky-nude lipsticks. But, I've also always loved deep, vampy reds. After a bad experience with the Australis 'Doo-Bai' Liquid Lipstick looking awful after a little bit, I was scared off of not only liquid lipsticks, but deep red lipsticks (the latter doesn't make much sense, but that was my logic at the time). However with an upcoming late autumn trip to the UK and Europe, and it being the middle of winter at the time, I decided that I'd finally give a deep red lipstick a go.

And I knew just the one. I'd been lusting after Mac's Diva for at least a year or two, it was the perfect deep, vampy, wine coloured red, and I knew it had to be mine. My mum actually bought it for me as my Birthday present (thankyou mum!) so I didn't have any 'financial investment' in it to pressure me into loving it, but alas, I did!

Diva is the most gorgeous deep red lipstick, and I honestly think it's an autumn/winter staple for any makeup lover! I have neutral-warm undertones and pale skin and I think it's very flattering on me, and I've seen darker girls or people with pink undertones look fab in it too!

I will say, the only downside to this lipstick is that because it's such a deep and bold colour, if your lips are dry then it'll be kind of obvious up close where the 'flaky' bits are. But that's super easy to fix, just moisturise your lips and I'd recommend using a lip scrub beforehand as well - Lush has some great ones in the flavours Popcorn, Mint Julip, and a Candy Floss one (I think, basically a sugar-y one)!

As you can see from the swatch, the colour comes up pretty opaque which is great, sometimes darker colours come up kinda patchy and need extra effort to make them look good. Not this one! It's a matte finish, but it still has this beautiful 'sheen' to it that makes it 'pop' that little bit more.

I'm honestly so happy with this lipstick, and I'd definitely recommend you check it out next time you go past a Mac counter! 

Do you own Diva? What do you think of this lipstick? Leave a comment letting me know!

x Chontelle

Outfits of the Week | September 2016 | OOTW

I've been away from Youtube for a while, but I've finally got a new video up on my channel featuring my outfits of the week for September 2016! If you'd like, have a watch and let me know which outfit you like best!



x Chontelle

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in 'Patina' | Review

I've had the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick's on my beauty wishlist for several months now, but I'd been holding off on actually purchasing any because I was hoping for the extremely popular Baci or Caramello. However, a couple of weeks ago I had a bit of spare money to spend and decided 'why not?', picking up my third choice from Mecca on a whim - Patina!

Honestly, the main reason this wasn't in my top two was only because I was worried it would pull too dark on me, like most lipsticks do. However, it didn't and I'm honestly so glad now that I've bought it! Patina is a gorgeous, deep and dusty pink with mauve undertones on me. It leans neutral to cool, which is perfect for my cooler skin tone and pink undertones. However, I really feel like this colour would suit most skin tones, pulling differently to compliment everyone - I have a friend with completely different colouring than me who looks just as good with Patina on, albeit pretty different!

I love the long wear on this lipstick too, it lasts for hours (though I wouldn't necessarily say it 'stays all day')! I wore it to the hairdressers recently, where I had two coffees (cappuccino's with all that foam and chocolate powder so I had to wipe my mouth a bit too) and a biscuit, as well as some water. It stayed on almost perfectly through all of that, which I was amazed (and very pleased) with! It only came off later in the evening when mum and I had an early dinner of steak and chips and Hog's Breath, which was understandable because of the oil and the messy nature of the meal! Still, it lasted a good 6 or so hours and probably could have done longer without that meal!

The applicator is also a plus, it picks up a good amount of product and glides effortlessly across the lips. It's just pointed enough that it is easy to fix up the edges of the lips for a smooth line. Honestly, I am so happy with this product and after trying so many awful liquid lipsticks, I'm glad to have found one that I'm more than happy to use - at last!

Have you tried any of the Stila Stay All Day liquid lipsticks? What are your thoughts? Leave me a comment down below, I'd love to hear your opinion!

x Chontelle

Essence Lip Liners | Review

As you may know, it was my birthday not long ago, and with birthdays come lots of discounts and gift vouchers from clubs and email lists you're signed up to. One of those, for me, is the Priceline Sisterhood Club. I received a $5 gift voucher to spend in store, and since I don't have much money at the moment, I needed to find something relatively close to the $5 mark if I was going to be able to make use of this voucher! After narrowing down my search to either a single use face mask or something from the cheapest brand Priceline stocks - Essence, I went with the latter.

Essence is one of those hit and miss brands, where you'll either love something or hate it. These essence lip liners, which retail for only $2, fall right on top of the love category. I decided to pick out three so that I could use up the gift voucher but also so that I could test out a variety of colours!

The three that I picked out were 11 - In the Nude, which is a perfect browny-nude colour that would be perfectly paired with Mac's Velvet Teddy; 06 - Satin Mauve which is the prettiest, muted cool-toned purple shade; and 12 - Wish Me a Rose, which is quite a bold rosy pink.

All of them glide on the lips so well, I wouldn't say 'effortlessly' but the level of effort required to apply this evenly is minimal.

They also have pretty great lasting power for a $2 product, especially around the actual 'lip-line'. These can be worn either by themselves, or with a lipstick (my personal preference is a satin or velvet finish lipstick as I'm not overly in love with matte on matte).

All in all, I'm pretty happy with these lip liners and will probably keep an eye out for some of the other shades on offer! I definitely think you should check them out too, here in Australia you can find them in your local Target or Priceline!

x Chontelle

Lady Gorgeous by ESJ Organic Skin Care | Review

Recently, I was contacted by the team over at ESJ Skin Care about trying out their popular skincare product for women, 'Lady Gorgeous'*.

ESJ (Emanuel Sam Joseph) is an Australian organic skin care retailer stocking quality skin care products for men and women that have proven results. Founder & Managing Director of the brand Emanuel Sam Joseph has personally suffered from problematic skin, so you know that a lot of time and care has gone into creating a product that will actually deliver results rather than leave you disappointed. I took to google and the ESJ website straight after hearing from the ESJ team, wanting to know what this product was all about and how others who have already tested out the product felt about it. My search was met with an abundance of great reviews from extremely happy customers, which is always a positive sign!

When I received the package two weeks ago, I was in awe of just how beautiful the packaging was! First impressions, people, they're important!

ESJ really has that 'luxury' feel, and upon opening the box I felt like I was at a luxury hotel and spa. There were fresh rose petals scattered throughout the box, and inside were two classic light pink bottles of product shaped like a woman's body.

The product itself is really nice. It can be used on your face and body on a daily basis, and is a really easy two-step process of cleanse and moisturise. Lady Gorgeous is, as the name suggests, the perfect skin care duo for us ladies! You get a cleanser and a moisturiser, so it's nice and simple and you won't be overloading your skin.

Lady Gorgeous retails for $89, which is quite a good price considering you get two 200mL bottles of product. They also have a version of this product available specifically for men, called The Gentleman! If I've peaked your interest in the product then you can read more about it over on the ESJ website here!

Thankyou for reading!

x Chontelle

Celebrating Twenty.

                

Two weeks ago now, I celebrated the end of my 'teen' years and entered my twenties. It doesn't feel any different, although my last few birthday's haven't seemed as 'big' and 'important' as they used to when I was younger. However, the presents are always pretty great! Haha.

Nonetheless, my birthday only comes around once a year and I wanted to do something to celebrate! I didn't have a party or anything, but I spent some time with friends and family which I honestly would prefer over a big party any day!

I celebrated in a few small 'doses'!

The first, a week before my birthday, was a trip to Max Brenner in South Bank with mum. I didn't want a cake or anything, and while we'd thought of having dessert after my birthday dinner, we didn't really want anything that particular restaurant had for dessert. So, we separated the two, and ended up doing Max Brenner first! This was actually my first time at Max Brenner, despite the chocolate restaurant's popularity! I'd wanted to go for ages but honestly, I couldn't justify it - until it was for my birthday that is!

We just got the Fondue for Two - which had milk chocolate and dark chocolate, and strawberries, banana, marshmallows and banana bread for dipping! - and a hot chocolate for myself and a milkshake for mum. It was delicious! Seriously, if you haven't already, you need to try this place (or something like it)!

Then, the night before my birthday, mum took me for my birthday dinner at our local Groove Train. For those of you who don't know, Groove Train is a casual kind of restaurant with a pretty affordable price tag (main meals averaging $20-$30) that actually offers a wide selection of menu items ranging from pastas, pizzas and nachos, to fish & chips, steak, and Asian curries and noodles. Seriously, there's something for everyone! After sharing a starter of a selection of Eggplant chips, polenta chips, calamari, chorizo and bruschetta; we moved onto our mains. I went for the gnocchi with added prosciutto as suggested to me by the waitress (since it's usually expensive to add, however it was my free birthday meal so why not?!), while mum had battered fish and chips.

Then my friend Meg took me out to the Valley for my birthday! We went to Prohibition first, where they had $1 pizza (and it was massive pizza, just look at that slice)! If you're ever in Brisbane, definitely check out Prohibition. It's such a nice and classy club, with great music, and you need to see the bathrooms (just trust me on this one, talk about luxe)! We also went to Birdees for a short bit, before heading home!

And that's how I celebrated my twentieth birthday, I hope you enjoyed this little snippet into my life!

xx Chontelle