A bit of a change of heart, as you’ve noticed I’ve been struggling to keep up with video uploads on a regular basis on both my main and second beauty channel. It’s really the same old excuse, and the reality now is, I don’t see it changing any time soon. My career has been growing which is fantastic, but not so great for my life as a blogger / youtuber.

So despite my message only two videos ago, I’ll be combining all my beauty related videos on to this channel just so I can maintain a more consistent schedule with beauty. As for the second beauty channel, I’ll convert it to something else that won’t require such frequent uploads, and I’ll announce that soon enough

That said I wanted to introduce you to a new little series I want to start running here called the Book of Basics (creative I know). It’s like another version of the Book of Fables, just focused more on natural beauty and the basics that make up the more complex tutorials for my BOF series.

Today’s episode is all about foundation, the different types and how I apply them! Hopefully you’ll find this useful, please feel free to send back any feedback you have I’m here to learn!

A while ago one of my friends decided to hold a super fancy dinner party So I thought it would be a great opportunity to put together a mocktail drink. I had to use all her equipment and glasses so fortunately she did have some very fancy glassware This is an incredibly simple drink, really just a matter of mixing two juices and adding some sorbet!

Start with an big empty jug, preferably with measurements

Add about 1 litre of orange juice of your choice.

Then 500ml of lemonade then mix well!

Add 1-2 scoops of lemon sorbet to each glass and you’re done! Fancy drinks are served!

Couple of photos of my friend’s very delicious dinner! She made everything on her own from scratch, really amazing! These photos make my hungry :9

In order to force some sort of relaxation and calm in my life, Surfaced Studio and I have decided to make an effort to take one day off a month to do whatever we want, just for us Because we are both nerds, these days either result into long gaming sessions or photography walks. Thankfully photography walks benefit the blog and help me become a better photographer (at least I hope!). Not to mention spending a carefree day out with someone you love is just the best form of stress relief.

So for our first walk we decided to visit Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens, we’ve both been here a few times before and it always tends to be much better with fewer people, unfortunately when you work full time the weekends are really the only free time you have But if you get a chance, I recommend visiting on a weekday if you can. The place is beautiful, like a fairytale

And smart me, I actually forgot to bring my camera with me this day (I had another appointment in the morning and was rushed), but I always carry at least one point and shoot on me, so today everything was taken with my nifty little new vlogging camera (I’ll do a separate post for it another day, I love it!)

Random snapshots of my time at Mooloolaba, the beach just infront of our apartment, the flowers growing outside the cheese factory, the beautiful inspirating jewellery Jo weaved and what trip isn’t complete with makeup

Time for another monthly mocktail Something nice and simple, as you know I was recently up at the Sunshine coast with some friends enjoying a bit of time away from work and decided what better place to put together a “Tequila” Sunrise than at the sunshine coast, only of course no actual Tequila is involved with this

It’s very simple, make sure you have some ice to fill up most of your glass.

Then fill almost to the top with any orange juice of your choice.

Then add just the slightest amount of grenadine syrup, watch it sink to the bottom and there you have it! Awesome looking drinks to enjoy in the sun with friends~

Really weddings, especially those during daylight are such wonderful photographic opportunities

I love the romantic vintage touch I added to these photos (if I do say so myself lol).

Another post, another mocktail I loved~ I first tried this mocktail last year when I attended a Halloween party! I had volunteered to bring the drinks and decided to shoot for a Halloween themed drink that wasn’t -too- gory because I tend to be the sort of person who eats with her eyes

This particular drink seemed to fit the bill, and would be perfect for anyone who already loves traditional soft drink lemonade with a bit more of a fruity kick to it The original recipe as usual comes from my favourite drink book called Squeezed.

For two cups, start off with 25g of blueberries and 50g of strawberries.

Take 375ml of your favourite chilled fizzy lemonade, doesn’t need to be fizzy but that’s my preference.

Toss in one scoop of lemon sorbet, throw it all together and bleeend~

And there you have it A simple fruity halloween themed drink!

Photos from our time at the beach, I just loved this location and all the mini beach houses. It was a great place to practice my hand at photography and since we were not rushed I could take my time and even managed to snap a few photos of a rather contemplative Surfaced Studio. He wasn’t posing at all! He was just playing on his phone as I wandering around

I didn’t do much in post for these photos, just lightened them a little but otherwise they are untouched!

Photos from the last time I went strawberry picking with friends, for those curious we went to Sunny Ridge, it wasn’t a bad location, the strawberries were beautiful and fantastic! But the customer service was pretty unimpressive.

This time I tried de-saturating the colours in these photos to give a more vintage look. I just love experimenting with all the different feels

Shidou Hikaru’s manga warrior costume has been one of my most complex and rewarding costumes I’ve ever made. Its been a costume I’ve had my sights on for many years now and in 2010 I decided to make it.

There are so many reasons I love this costume, both from a construction point of view (took five weekends to make the sword, many thanks to Toby for helping), but the fact that two of my great friends Sefie and Annie cosplayed both Fuu and Umi with me, and that it was featured on the front cover of the Melbourne MX newspaper! So many great memories

Photos are by ofcourse Neil Creek <3

Hope you enjoy the video

Products Used:
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation – 4
Maybelline Dream Matte Powder – Light
NARS Powder Blush – Orgasm
Clinique Even Better Concealer – Porcelain
NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
Canmake Highligher – 01
Essence Lash & Brow Gel
Stila Smugde Pot – Black
NYX The Curve
Prestige Eyeliner – White
Lancome Hypnose Drama – Black
Coastal Scents 88 Color Eye Shadow Palette
MAC Lipglass – Cruise Control