So It Begins

WARNING:  Boring blog post. No pictures.

So I'm perfectly aware that this post is very late. I am actually writing this in Singapore while waiting for our next flight. I do have an excuse for why I haven't been posting anything lately. I spent most of the days leading up super busy with work and final organisational things like our money and whatnot. Most annoyingly though I managed to catch the flu that has been going around town for the last 3 weeks. All this time not being sick at all and then Bam! the day before we leave I wake up with the worlds worst body aches and chest pains. So don't expect many photos of me for a while. I'm looking particularly terrible.

Ok so here's how it all went down.
Most of the departure date was spent packing because we somehow managed to procrastinate enough to leave it that late. I say packing but what I really mean is me laying on the bed with clothes and misc items strewn all over the place and my poor bf being dictated to as to what goes where. It worked in the end... Some what.
We met up with our travel buddies at the local airport along with all our families and waited for the flight. By this stage I was already to bail on everything. Fever and flying don't go hand in hand very well.


Somehow I survived the first flight to Brisbane and we all made our way to the international airport for more waiting. (soon realised waiting was going to be a common theme)

So a few hours later we were flying again from Brisbane to Singapore and was super keen to get some sleep. Yeah right. I have to say it still wasn't the worst flight I've ever taken. We flew with Singapore Airline and the service was great. Good food, lots of drinks as often as you wanted and a ridiculous selection of entertainment options. My favourite things was that you could take out entertainment remote and the back was a controller for playing video games! [Nerd] Of course I didn't take photos of any of these things because firstly, it was a night flight with the lights out, secondly I was too busy trying to sleep haha.

Well that was day 1 of many. Woo! Pretty exciting right? I've got to say that I would have been much more enthusiastic if I wasn't suffering extreme hot and cold waves from fever. Something I am much more excited about is writing about my time in Singapore. I haven't left yet so it would be a shame you you didn't get the full experience with me eh.

I assure you my future posts will be more exciting, possibly including pictures and things.

Pre departure Skincare

Not many people have perfect skin and I'm definitely no exception. I have a lot of trouble with acne scarring and quite often I have surprise breakouts along my chin. Because I'm so pale I'm always left with horrid red scars that last quite a long time. I've put together a skincare regime before we leave so I can calm down my face so I don't have to think about it so much. The problem is that I have very sensitive skin but it's also very oily. I always prefer natural product with talcs or parabens but there isn't a huge range in my home town so most of my favourite products have come to me through beauty samplers like Lust Have It.

From start to finish here are some of my favourite products all working together for clearer skin. Remembering of course, that all skin types are different and what works for me may not work for others.

Neutrogena Naturals
Fresh cleansing + Makeup remover

  I cannot go a day without washing my face with a proper cleanser. I use this twice a day as my go to face wash both morning and night. I'll admit, I'm pretty lazy and don't take off my makeup before going for a shower and I have noticed that quite a lot of other cleansers will not clean off makeup as well as this one. I'm usually left with panda eyes from waterproof mascara and kohl eyeliner but not with this cleanser.
I like the idea of 86% naturally derived ingredients. As I'm getting older I'm a lot more mindful about what I'm putting on my face and what is being absorbed by my skin. I also understand though that sometimes products need more than just minerals and extracts.
I'd totally recommend this to anyone trying to move away from harsh cleansers and scrubs. The scent is something citrus crossed with ... plants? Grass maybe?? I'm not sure how to describe it. It's a great fresh scent though. It always leaves my skin feeling clean but still moisturised.

Ocean Essence
Crystal Microdermabrasion

Twice a week (or maybe 3 times depending on how hot it's been) I give myself a good ol' exfoliating. I received this in a recent LHI box and love it. Very fine crystal particles suspended in a lightweight cleanser that seems to be a cross between a gel and a cream. It has a nice "tropical" fragrance, apparently, although I think it just smells nice. I use this one sparingly and only press lightly because I have found that it can do more harm than good if you really go to town with a lot of force.
The Ocean Essence range is Australian made and most importantly to me no mineral oils, parabens or petro-chemicals. That's what I like to see. It also makes me feel like I'm having some amazing spa experience because they use real crystals in the formula. Luxury, definitely a bonus.

Paula's Choice
Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution

I only use this after using the microdermabration solution. This is a great product for use after any facial scrub. It takes away the redness and soothes the skin. It contains 2% salicylic acid which I'm totally ok with as it kill the bacteria that cause acne. It looks, feels and smells just like water. I don't use this after regular cleansing because it can sometimes leave my skin feeling a little more oily than I would like it to be. After a deep cleanse and scrub though it's the best thing to calm down the skin. I have no red blotches at all after a few minutes. It claims to help improve pore texture and skin tone. I haven't really seen anything like that from this one but it does a great job either way.

Savi Australia
Organic Soothing Cream

 Ahhhhhh I absolutely love this product. Of all the things that have helped improve my skin this has probably been the most effective. This is Savi Australia's Organic Soothing Cream. Most of the ingredients are essential oils like Tea Tree, Evening Primrose, Rose hip, Sage, the list goes on. It also has other great things like Manuka Honey, Aloe Vera, Shea Butter and so forth. It's like all the most amazing natural ingredients were whipped up together and slapped in a jar. It does have a fairly strong scent, it's kind of a sagey, tee tree scent. Maybe not a good choice for those who can't stand scents.
If I have a big, red, angry pimple creep up on me in the night I apply this and the next day it'd pretty much gone. It relieves redness, possibly better than the Paula's Choice toner but I don't want use anything too harsh after exfoliating. I've even noticed my pores are looking smaller and I'm definitely seeing less blackheads but I also think it might be a combination of this and the others in the process.

Olay Complete Defence
Sensitive Skin

I have a love hate relationship with the Sun. I love that it keeps the world turning and allows us to live. I hate almost everything else about it. It's hot, it burns me, it causes me to sweat, it gives me freckles, it doesn't allow me to tan and repeat and with burning me. My skin has 2 tones: Pink and Red and given my options I like to keep it as pale pink as I can.
That's where Sunscreen comes in. I wear some kind of sunscreen any day I know I have to venture in the sun for any period of time.
I've finally found a face sunscreen/moisturiser that doesn't cause my skin to erupt after one application. I'm quite surprised that I found it in Olay. Usually I find their products to cause me to break out. I've been using this for almost a year now and so far so good. It's non greasy, fast absorbing and the 30+ SPF is as good as it gets here. The best thing about this is that I can wear it under any type of BB cream or powder without it separating or flaking.

Alite Rejuvenating
Whitening Face Cream

If I know I'm not going out in the sun for the day i do my best to fix what the sun has done to my skin. This is an awesome whitening cream I received from my friend Kate (check out her blog!) in a beauty swap. Boy am I glad she didn't want this anymore haha! The combination of this cream and Savi's soothing cream has really helped my skin out recently.
Currently I've only found this sold directly from the manufacturer as it seems to only be available in New Zealand.
This is a strange cream. It's very thick and has a rosey scent. Normally I would stay far away from anything like this but after you apply this paste-like cream it amazingly changes texture to a matte finish and leaves my skin feeling moisturised but smooth and velvety. It has some great ingredients too, Rotorua Geothermal Mud, Manuka Honey, Licorice Extract, All sorts of great things. It definitely has helped with the clarity of my skin and most importantly cutting down sun damage.







Night time probably the best time for healing skin. There's no sun, the temperature is cooler, no activities to dirty your skin. I've only recently started using night specific creams and after going through a couple of bad choices I've found a goody.
Nivea's Pure & Natural Regenerating Night Cream. Once again, keen on the lack of baddies and full of goodies like Aloe Vera oil and Argan oil. It has a light texture that's more gel like than cream and a light fresh scent as well. This is my second time purchasing this and while using the first batch I didn't have any problems with breakouts or irritations.



Well that's it. That's what I've been using to get my skin under control before I leave the country and inevitably let it go crazy again haha!
I'd love to know what everyone else uses. What's your favourite cleanser or skin cream? Do you have a particular routine you like to do or change it up all the time?

Not long now until I go but still a few more things to get organised. I'm always leaving things to the last minute. Ooops.

Modcloth Surprise

Just a super quick post tonight.

I arrived home last night and sitting on my laptop was a parcel!! I had totally forgotten that I had ordered a few things from Modcloth.I love, Love LOVE Modcloth. They have a great selection of fun and quirky styles in clothing and housewares. They also have a lot of classic looking basics that are all great quality.
I have could spend ours browsing through all the lovely styles and patterns they have. But I have been stung by postage fees before. Luckily it wasn't terrible this time but being based in the US it makes my sad Aussie dollar look a bit weak now.
ere's my little haul from Modcloth:                                                        







Cherry Picking Top: $29.99 rrp M

Super cute and somewhat sheer bright orangey red top. Sleeveless and breezy, all tied together with a lovely bow at the neck.
I always read the comments and reviews before I buy anything and for the most part the worst thing people had to say was that it didn't suit their body type or the fabric was a bit thin. All things I am willing to forgive as I already have a top in this cut and the thinner the fabric the less I have to worry about the endless 30+ degree heat.


  Fresh For The Pickin' Skirt: $54.99 rrp (bought for $37.99) L
How adorable is this print!! It was love at first site so I just had to get it. Vivid strawberry and raspberry print. Knee length A-line design. What isn't there to love? Best thing yet IT HAS POCKETS! There is no end to my love of dresses with pockets. Especially pockets that are actually usable and aren't just for show. The reviews said that the sizing ran a little small so I sized up just in case. I really can't justify spending money on something I can't really return (or can't be bothered). I think I could easily fit an M though. 





Boldest Of The Bunch Dress: $89.99rrp (bought for $69.99) L
 When I saw this dress in my hands I literally went bananas! Although this isn't available at Modcloth anymore it's still floating around directly from Folter as part of their Retrolicious range.
I am very glad I read the reviews for this dress. It's amazing but it definitely is a smaller run. In an A-line dress I'm usually a M or S this dress definitely wouldn't fit in anything other than an L on me.

Keep an eye out after I return from Europe. I'm starting something exciting and it may include a lot of super cute retro and rockabilly designs. You may see these guys popping up again in future blog posts.

20 Day Getaway

Coach Tour: Noun (kch tr)
A group of 50+ people (seniors) crammed into a bus for hours on end with a mind numbing commentary of things and places you're not really interested in. Getting off the bus only to be ushered around by a lady in an 80's inspired suit dress with a large umbrella (and/or pole with colourful tassel). Many museums and more historical commentary.

BORING!
That's pretty much what I thought of coach tours before I worked for a travel agent and had to sell them. Somehow I've also managed to sell the idea to myself as well and I am totally ok with this now.
How about you don't have enough time to figure out what you want to do in places you've never been to. What do you do? Wing it and see how you go roaming aimlessly around a foreign land? No thanks. I'm a little too paranoid and more importantly I'd rather be spending my time at checking out the lovely items on sale or eating the delicious food. I'd also rather not have to worry about how terrible my hostel will be. Or how much it's going to cost me once I'm over there. Have it all booked and paid for ahead of time and better yet, I'd like a chauffeur too please.
One of the reasons we chose a tour was so at the very least we can blame someone for making decisions that weren't ours. Like the food and accommodation haha!
No really, I'm looking forward to seeing the quality of noms and bedding. We didn't have a huge amount of money to spare so we needed a budget friendly tour that gave us enough bang for our buck.

On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again.

So why Topdeck?
Everyone's heard of Contiki. Synonymous with 18yr olds partying on down til the wee hours. Although I'm well aware this isn't entirely true and it really depends on the group going on the tour I'd still prefer something with the best of both worlds. Spend the night doing my own thaaang or catching a party when I can be bothered to put on full face makeup. Remembering also that we need to get on a bus at some ungodly hour, possibly even before midday. A hangover is not on my to do list. So we scoured both Contiki and Topdeck and this was our result.

This particular tour we chose as a group... and as a group I mean the two girls in the group chose the tour and the boys agreed. We had a time frame of about 3 weeks on tour so we don't get cabin fever and want to murder our tourmates.

• 20 days = 3 weeks (just about) Check

We wanted to spend a reasonable amount of time in each place. Overnight stops are really a waste of time in my mind. Ideally I'd love to spend a a week to 5 days in each place... Oh if only I had endless time and money..

• Most stops are 2 nights. Check

 Affordability, cos we're stingy bums. Booking this enough in advance gave us a 5% discount for early bird saving. Having the 4 of us together gave us a group discount of another 5%. Having all of our food included in the tour was a big bonus too. I don't want to limit the amount of pretties I can bring back because it cost me 7Euro for a bottle of water.

• 10% discount. almost all breakfast and lunches included. Most dinner. Check

Most importantly it was going to all the right places at the right time. We made sure we chose a trip with guaranteed departures. All too often as a travel agent a tour will be cancelled because there aren't enough people booked in. Topdeck (and Contiki) offer tours which are guaranteed to go even if it's just you and the trip leader on the bus.

• No escape. definitely going. Check.

Well that's pretty much it as to the why. As I said before though it really did come down to all the pieces fitting into place. there were plenty of other tours that would have been amazing. Some that travelled through Spain, others that went down to Greece or Croatia. After making a big list of pros and cons we went with the one that most suits our needs right now. It wasn't an overnight decision. It actually took us quite a long time thinking about all the places we really wanted to go and the ones that would be a good bonus.

If you're ever thinking of going to Europe, especially if you've never travelled before I recommend a tour. make sure though that it's the right one for you. Not just where you're going but also who you're going with.
You don't want to be herded about with the elderly and the shoulder pad wearing umbrella lady.

Le Tour De Europe

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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee
So I just picked up my tickets for the Europe trip I've been organising for the last 6 months or so!

Look at ALL the things!

I have to say it's all feeling a bit more real now I'm holding the tangible evidence in my hands. Now that the countdown is on I'm more than likely going to set these aside thinking I have all the time in the world, then BAM! It's the night before and clothes and bottles are frantically being thrown into bags in an attempt to put together everything I need. Sleep will not happen, instead I will fall asleep on the floor with my head on the bed that is heaped with gear.

Hopefully not.
I guess I'd better explain exactly who, what, when, where and how this trip is going about eh?

My family is Polish so I like to visit the homeland every couple of years. I like to visit my family while I still can and as they are usually all very busy or spread out across the continent I figured I may as well go the whole hog and make a tour out of it. The BF will be tagging along as he's never really been overseas properly (He's currently pooing himself with nervousness) and two of our very recently, as in just this Wednesday, engaged friends are coming along for the ride too.
So all in all it's going to be a fun time. Here's hoping haha.

What do you mean my map isn't politically correct?!

So In 2 weeks time we fly out of Brisbane, have a stopover in Singapore and continue on to Ol' Paris.
We're arriving ahead of time to meet up with my cousin who is currently living and studying in Paris (So Jelly!) for a locals tour of the sites and sounds and hopefully tastes and smells of the place.
Then we're heading off on our Topdeck Tour of Europe.

So much chocolate and cheese to be had.

We chose a 20 day tour the European Getaway. Look at all the amazing places in goes to! There were a number or reasons we chose this particular tour although we could have just as easily chosen so many of the others.
Our tour ends in London and after a nights rest we're splitting up groups and the lovers are heading off on their own adventure while we jet on over to Poland for "Meet the Family" and "Tour Recovery" week. Unfortunately BF has to fly back early for work but I'll be spending another 2 weeks in the homeland to have family talk my ears off, fill me to capacity with food and then walk it all off with the copious amount of shopping I'll get to do!Finally I get back on the tin can to be propelled through Bangkok on the way back to Brisbane.

Well that's basically it. This is probably as condensed an itinerary as I can give right now.
More blog posts to follow featuring the Tour itself and why we chose it and some beauty updates.

And just because I haven't featured anything of myself in here yet. Here's a selfie for the road.

Nailed that rolled fringe!

Thanks for sticking by.
Kat

Procrastination thy name is Planning

Okay, Okay.
So I told myself I would do this blog thing properly. Yet here we are a good 6 months or so after my last post. I would like to play the "too busy and hectic work schedule" card. Not long after my last post pretty much ALL the members of staff at my work quit... Including the manager. So it was up to me and another lady to run the entire store. Needless to say I had a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it in. And that was my last 6 months. Now we have all new staff and I have the exact opposite problem. I am working as minimal as possible because I was stood down to a casual team member so I could GO TO EUROPE!

Normally I would be angry that I had to lose my management position in order to visit my family. I've now come to the conclusion that I don't care about the store because if they cared enough about me they would have allowed me to keep my position. They were well aware of my trip prior to hiring me but when I said my 5-6 week holiday may have turned into a 7 week tour they didn't seem to like that much.

Anyway, I digress, this will not be a blog about my whinging about work. For the most part this blog will now be about my trip. What I see, do, eat and most importantly buy. $$$$$

Most of the necessary things have been finalised: Tickets, tours, accommodation etc. But of course the most important things still have me pulling my hair out. So for the next couple of posts I will inevitably be talking about my on tour wardrobe and beauty products. Still so many things to organise!!

The heat is on though. It's exactly 2 weeks until D-Day (departure day that is) so I have to make sure I have ticked all the boxes and still left enough space in my bag for the inevitable hoards of gear coming back with me. 

Stay tuned for details, more planning and learning from my mistakes. And photos. Lots and lots of photos.

Bloggers in my life

Yes, Yes, Long time no post.
There has been some major weather action here lately with some cyclones in the area causing a lot of water damage. Also, it's been very hot so I've been lazy haha..

Today I'd like to talk about the people who inspired me with their blogs to create my own.

I never use to pay any attention to blogs at all until fairly recently. I think it was some time early last year while I was home alone that I stumbled upon the first blog that really caught my interest. It's still one of my favourite blogs that I follow and one of my favourite people on the internet.

Ekiblog:
http://www.ekiblog.com/

I was drawn to her love of beauty and kawaii. Her photography is excellent and she has an adorable webstore where she sells hand made jewelery and other cute things. She is constantly visiting Japan, my one true weakness, and sharing her experiences with the world.
She has a great range of make up and contact lense reviews and great youtube tutorials also. Bonus also, she's gorgeous and writes in a lovley and kind tone.

Eki will always be in my list of top bloggers for sure. Check her out if you can or don't already follow her blog.

Secondly, and only because I found her after Eki (and in a post from Eki) is Cheeserland:
http://cheeserland.com/

Cheesie is a Malaysian blogger who focuses more on fashion than beauty but also has a fair share of travel (mostly to Japan), beauty and other interesting things to post about.
Cheesie's writing style is very laid back and fun. She's definitely deserving of the award for "NAPBAS Best fashion blog".

I get a little envious of these ladies every now and then. They seem to have so much fun in their daily lives and have truely made their blogs a full time job. I know it's not likely at the moment but if I can make even the tiniest percentage of a following of happy readers then I know I've made a good blog like these girls.

Just thought I'd better make it obvious as well. The pictures in this post are in no way my own. They are from the front page of both blogs.

It's getting close to Valentines Day again. Maybe I'll have some super cute things to post about again soon. <3