OCTOBER FAVOURITES

 

It's been a crazy month, and I can't believe we're already nearing the end of 2022 - time, if you'd like to slow down I would really appreciate it!

I've been super busy and haven't had as much time to sit down and write something for this blog this month, but when I was thinking about what to finally write about I kept thinking about all the things I've been loving this month (and in general) and was like, 'wait, that's perfect, I want to share that'!

So here it is - all my favourites from October! I 100% recommend you check all of them out, I'm sure you'll love them as much as I do!

Book - The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

I'd seen this book when browsing the bookshelves and popping up on Instagram a fair bit, and had just finished my Colleen Hoover binge so was looking for something new and different to read. Needless to say, The Midnight Library was just that! 

*trigger warning - mental health and suicide*

I've never read anything like it before. The story follows Nora who - after it all becomes too much and she decides to end her life - enters the midnight library, a kind of purgatory in her own mind between life and death, where she is given the chance to remedy her regrets and live out all of the infiinite possible lives she could be living had she done just one thing differently. At times, I found the story quite sad because I could really relate to her emotions and regrets, but at the same time I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing her characters growth and transformation as she tried alternate life after alternate life. I won't say anything more about the book because I don't want to spoil it, but I will say this - it's an absolute must-read and seriously worth the hype!

Podcast - Do You Fucking Mind? by Alexis Fernandez

I've been listening to this podcast for a few months now, and I seriously recommend checking it out. Whether you're going through a hard time, need some no-bullshit life advice and guidance, feel stuck or need to make some changes, or just need something positive and motivating to get you on track - this podcast has all that, and more! This podcast has been a life-saver for me, helping me with my mindset, self love, confidence and assertiveness, and so much more. Alexis is like the perfect combination of a friend who's not afraid to tell it like it is, and a therapist. I'm already excited for the next episode!

TV - Emily in Paris

I mean, this technically isn't a new one but I did rewatch both seasons this month in anticipation for Season 3 coming at the end of the year, and I still love it just as much as I did before! I feel like this is a show you can rewatch continuously and not get sick of (maybe that's just me, but I rest my case). Emily is living my dream life, I would absolutely love to live and work in Paris - one of my favourite cities - working for a luxury marketing firm, falling in love, going to events, exploring beautiful Paris. Yes, it's romanticised as hell and kinda cheesy at times, but I'm obsessed!

Fragrance - Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Crush Cheriosa '71 Body Fragrance Mist

This is my ultimate everyday body mist - the scent is super strong and long-lasting, and smells good enough to eat! The scent is described as 'salted caramel, toasted macadamia nut, sea salt, white chocolate, and coconut blossom', which is honestly spot on and smells as luscious as it sounds! It's creamy, nutty, sweet, intense, and I cannot get enough of it! This one is consistently sold out, and for good reason. Trust me, if you don't have this one already, you need it in your life!

Beauty - Huda Beauty Rose Gold Palette

I'm a big fan of Huda's eyeshadows, they're some of the best quality, most pigmented shadows I've used! I already own two of her palettes - the New Nude Palette and the Mercury Retrograde Palette, which I love, so when I saw the Rose Gold Palette I knew it would be a winner. This palette's actually been out for a year now, and I hadn't realised it had come out because I haven't been following makeup releases etc for a while (been on a bit of a spending detox), but I spotted it in Sephora recently and decided to treat myself, and I'm so glad I did!

This is a stunning cool-toned rosey/neutral palette, which is perfect for me as those are the colours I love to wear! It does have a little warmth thrown into the top left corner to balance things out, but it's definitely a really wearable everyday palette for me! The shimmers are, as always, stunning - my favourite is Abundance, a deep neutral bronze/lavender shimmer that looks amazing day or night!

Anyway, I highly recommend you check out any and all of these favourites - they might just become some of your new faves too! Until next time,

xx Chontelle Louise

Moving Out for the First Time

 

Moving out of home for the first time is both an exciting and nerve-inducing part of life. There's no correct time or way to do it - but when you do, it's an amazing experience that'll give you an overwhelming feeling of achievement and independence.

I recently moved out for the first time with one of my best friends and her partner, and I've really been loving it. I've always been pretty independent so it's been great for me, but having a friend around has also meant it still feels like home and I've always got someone to hang out with in down time - which we've had a fair bit of lately with the whole Queensland lockdown we've just had. 

Sure, you'll have your challenges - missing home, adapting to new routines and motivating yourself to do things for yourself, bills, and working out how to live with people with different habits to your own for those of you who are sharing - but it's honestly all worth it in the end!

Here's some of my favourite things about moving out of home:

The Sense of Independence

As I mentioned, moving out of home gives you a real sense of independence. You're out on your own (even with housemates), you buy your own groceries, plan your own meals, can set things up to reflect your personality, can have who you want over when you want - there's a real freedom to it. 

Having Your Own Space

Living at home with family, boundaries are definitely a little more lax. Especially for me as someone quite private and independent, I feel more comfortable having more personal space and boundaries. Of course the boundaries are still a little less strict as I'm with a good friend, but I feel like I can have a private conversation, not be walked in on, or be questioned on what I'm doing so much. There's nothing wrong with that of course but for me personally it just gets a bit frustrating.

Valuing Your Family Time More

Going off the previous point, not having family on top of you all the time and being in each others space not only means you're going to be less frustrated with one another, but you're going to value and better enjoy the time you do spend with your family.

Open Communication

While this isn't present in all share households, it should be and enhances the whole experience. At home, even if you're paying rent, you've still got that parent and child dynamic going on. Out of home, you're all equals which means you all get to have your say in day to day life. It's great to be able to openly communicate your boundaries, expectations and interests for the household, and to work together to create a place that's comfortable and homely for everyone.

xx Chontelle

Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike | Book Review

I've decided I'm going to try something new this year by introducing book reviews here on my blog! I love to read, and I've made reading a new book every month one of my goals/resolutions for 2017 so I thought, why not take this opportunity to create a mini blog series reviewing each of the books I read so that you can decided whether or not you'd like to check them out too?

To kick things off, I've got YA novel Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike. This is book one in a series of three sci-fi novels, and follows the story of Tavia Michaels - the sole survivor of a plane crash that begins seeing visions of people she's never met and discovers abilities and a past life that she never knew she had.

The story begins with the plane crash, before fast forwarding to the present where she is hiding from the media and living with relatives she never really knew. The story takes a while to pick up, but if you push through the chapters you'll find an action-packed sci-fi adventure, a blossoming romance, and a love triangle like no other that'll keep you turning to the next page.

I picked up this book for two reasons - the first being that it was written by Aprilynne Pike, who is also the author of the super successful Wings series, which I am a huge fan of; and the second being that the blurb sounded pretty darn interesting.

While I certainly enjoyed this book overall, I've gotta be honest and say that it did take quite a while for the story to pick up - I feel like I was at least a third of the way into the book before things began to make sense and a story appeared. However, from that point onwards it was an interesting, eventful, action-packed story that really drew me in.

One little qualm I had with the book was a bit of misused grammar or sentence structure, such as 'I didn't used to' which, let's be honest, isn't appropriate in a published novel. Other than that, it was well written.

In the end, it was an enjoyable read, and I'm really excited to see what happens next for Tavia - in fact, I dropped by my local bookshop the other day to order in a copy of the sequel, Earthquake.

Have you read Earthbound? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this book, or the series in general!

x Chontelle

2017 Goals & Resolutions

2016 was a big year for me. I moved back to Brisbane from Melbourne, I officially started a degree majoring in Public Relations and Media & Communication, I began decluttering and reinvented my personal style to feel more like myself,  I got much better at doing my makeup (thanks to YouTube, of course!), I scored a PR internship which I loved, I saved up for and went on a holiday over to London, Belgium and Amsterdam, I met some amazing YouTube friends, and I gained a renewed motivation to work hard at blogging and YouTube. 

Last year brought with it many ups and downs, but in the end, I can honestly say it was a year of change that has set me on the path to success in 2017, and beyond. 

You'll probably know by now that I'm a massive list person. I love a good 'to-do' list and the feeling of satisfaction that comes with crossing something off of a list is seriously addictive. So of course, the opportunity that comes with the new year to create a list of things I want to achieve was too tempting to resist. This year, I've chosen some goals and resolutions I feel I can realistically achieve (at least to some degree) in twelve months - here's hoping I can make them happen!

1. Read at least 12 new books this year. 

Ever since I can remember, right through to around year 10 in high school, I would read literally all the time. However, when my senior years of high school got too much with an increased workload and serious stress and personal issues on top of that, reading went on the back-burner. It's still there, and this year I want to change that, starting with a small but manageable goal of one new book every month!

2. Visit a new country - possibly somewhere in Asia or India.

Visiting a new country is always on my to-do list, but surprisingly - other than a few hours stopover in Singapore's International Airport - I've never been anywhere in Asia! Living in Australia, Asia - particularly South-East Asia - is one of the more accessible travel destinations, as is India. I think it's time I explore a place a little closer to home while I'm still living here!

3. Post new content at least once a week.

My motivation has been renewed, and I want to start taking my channel and my blog more seriously this year. A minimum of one new piece of content each week is something manageable and consistent that I'd like to stick to. And if I happen to have additional content, well, the more the merrier, right!?

4. Learn to sing well. 

I love music, and I love to sing along to my favourite songs, but my singing abilities are sub-par at best. I'd love to do a mixture of online at-home lessons, along with maybe some actual lessons, just to improve and learn more about pitch and breathing and all that so that by the end of the year I'll have discovered my voice and actually sound okay when I sing.

5. Write a book.

Or more specifically, begin writing a book and stick to it. Something you mightn't know about me is that I've always wanted to be an author - I remember putting together mini books and magazines made out of folded paper and staples, and slipping them into our class book cupboard for people to read (and getting in a lot of trouble for it, oops)! I've started so many stories, some as short stories and some that could definitely give birth to a novel, and this year I'd really like to work on one that who knows, may actually get published one day!

6. Gain more PR/media/communications experience.

A bit broad, I know, but that's because I've got a bunch of sub-sections within this one. I really want to get another PR or social media related internship this year, I'd like to collaborate with more brands and potentially even get some freelance writing work, and there's a radio station that I'd love to volunteer at as well!

7. Get fitter & healthier.

Of course, it had to fit in here somewhere, didn't it? You'll find something about fitness and health on everyone's list of goals and resolutions for the new year, but most people (myself included) tend to let this one go pretty early. I think this has a lot to do with making the resolution too strict and too exact, which is why I've gone with simply 'getting fitter & healthier'. I'd like to get out and exercise more, at least once or twice a week. I'd like to eat more proper cooked or prepared meals as opposed to take-away, crackers and dip, microwave porridge and all that, and add more variety to my diet.

8. Learn to speak a new language.

This is one I often have on my new year resolutions lists, but I never stick to it past around April. This year, I want to beat that record! I've already self-taught myself some basic French and would love to either expand on that, or learn some basic Italian (or both) as I love both of those languages! I'd also finally like to learn some Afrikaans to understand my family better when they speak/write in it, but it's just not as alluring to me as the Latin languages are - so we'll see!

What are your goals and resolutions for 2017? Leave me a comment down below letting me know, or if you've made a blog post or video about them yourself - let me know about that too! 

Happy New Year!

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

Eat Street Markets | VLOG & Photos

Took a quick OOTD outside the markets - watch my vlog below for outfit details!

Literally perfection, the Potato Slinky. Heaven for a potato-anything lover like myself.

Gaytime Cronut - the outside pastry and topping was delicious, but unfortunately the inside was mostly gooey dough :( 

Over the weekend mum and I finally had the chance to check out Brisbane's popular Eat Street Markets. I'd been wanting to go for a pretty long time now, because well, I love food, and food markets, and food!

It was a pretty fun evening out and there was so much nice food to choose from. Of course I couldn't try it all, but I'm already planning to head back in the future to try some more!

I filmed some snippets from the night and put together a vlog for your to check out, so be sure to watch it if you'd like to see more about the markets!

x Chontelle