Haul of the Week

This week I did quite a bit of lunchtime and after work shopping. I went to Chapel St twice this week! For those who don’t know, Chapel St is located a quick 5 minute train ride out of the city and it is the most incredible street packed full of the coolest shops, bars, restaurants, boutiques and everything else under the sun considered trendy. For instance it’s where the first Australian Topshop decided to set up shop, choosing this location in preference to the renowned fashion capital of Melbourne city centre.

So what did I buy this week?

A Haircut

I went to Chapel St to get my hair cut from my new hairdresser who I’ve only been to once before. He considers himself to be a hair stylist rather than a hair cutter, and the way he works on your hair more resembles an artist than man with scissors. He is all about texture and shaping your hair so it’s so full of movement and body.

My hair is naturally very thick, straight and long with grown out long layers. After cutting the basic shape whilst dry, he then washed my hair with incredible products, threw in a scalp massage, and then cut my hair wet and followed that with a blow-dry. My hair was left more layered, with softer ones around my face that frame my features really well. My hair feels so much lighter, sits naturally so much better, and just looks a lot healthier and shinier. I’m really happy with my haircut!

Orofluido Shampoo and Conditioner

When I was there my hairdresser recommended some shampoo and conditioner to me. It contains three natural oils - Argan, Cyperus and Linseed, and is said to leave hair silky, loose and shiny.

I bought it and after one use I’m unsure whether I love it. The packaging is gorgeous and it smells absolutely divine. I was told I only need a small coin sized amount of both, so tried that. But I found that the shampoo formula did not froth or lather up, and due to this, such a small amount just shampooed one small section of my hair. And my hair is so long. I ended up having to use a lot more than that and even when I had a lot it never seemed to froth up! For some reason I felt it didn’t clean as well due to the lack of foaming. 

My hairdresser did say it was a very natural product free from chemicals, and chemicals aid the frothing in the formulation so perhaps this is why. The conditioner felt very moisturizing and conditioning which was a plus. Afterwards, my hair smelt beautiful, shined like no other shampoo has made it before, had minimal frizz and was very sleek, and felt so much lighter and healthier. So I guess it really did work and did what it claimed on the packaging. I think the shampoo just really let down the products, and the actual shampooing experience was less enjoyable than usual with no foaminess! 

I most likely wouldn’t repurchase as at $25 each I feel you can get better products for your money. I’ll let you know in an update on here if I continue to use it and my experience with it improves.

So so shiny!

Topshop Shop

Nail polish - Flamingo Coral 

I love this colour, I’ve been searching for a medium toned peach pink warm pastel for ages, and this one just looked perfect in the bottle. It looks even better on my nails, and somehow makes my pale skin look more tanned which is always a plus! Brilliant Summer/Spring colour, and loving it on my nails right now. It cost about $10 and the colour is Flamingo Coral. Love it, lasts ages with my Seche Vite topcoat, and applies beautifully. Highly recommend.

*Looks slightly more corally peach than here

Earrings trio

I really wanted a few more small earrings that don’t dangle on my ear lobes, and I fell in love with the bigger dusty pink ones in this trio. And for only $12, it was a great buy to get three pairs of earrings. Really happy with them, they're cheap, look great on, go with everything. Very satisfied with this purchase. In general though I really don't like Topshop jewellery, so it was good to finally find something in the range.

MAC All That Glitters Eyeshadow

One of my four pan palettes had one spot free and I’ve been dying to buy a refill pan for it for ages to complete the foursome! After a long peruse in the MAC Pro shop on Chapel St, I managed to narrow it down to this colour. I really wanted a champagne neutral colour that stood out a bit more than a more subtle colour like Naked Lunch. And I loved the swatch of this on the back of my hand. This refill pan cost $26.

I’m quite happy with it, but think it has a slight orange tinge against my pale skin which I don’t entirely appreciate. Perhaps this will look better on me in the upcoming summer with more of a tan. I also think this suits my blue eyed and/or blonde haired friends better than me. I’ll have to keep playing with it and see how it goes, but I’m slightly disappointed. Any suggestions on what you wear this colour with or how you wear it would be appreciated... I really want to love it! 

Tony Bianco Flats

I fell in love with these taupe leather black bowed flats in the store, and even more when I tried them on. They have an incredible cushioned sole which makes them the most comfortable flat I’ve ever worn. I just had to buy them, plus they match my much worn favourite Mimco Taupe bag. I tend to wear pretty flats to work then change into high heels for the day, because my commute does not mix well with heels. So these will be great to wear with my office clothes every day (my office dress is quite semi-formal, and more stylish than full suits etc). These flats cost me $75.

So that's about it! Let me know if you have any comments about any of these purchases, or any recommendations about the All That Glitters eyeshadow - I really want to love it! 

Hope you guys all have a great weekend, and depending on where you are in the world - happy start of Spring/Autumn/Fall! :)

Travel Bracelet Keepsake

Here’s a really creative idea for a beautiful travel keepsake. When I travelled all around Europe last year, I collected a charm from every main city/country I went to.

These are the places I visited and their matching charms:

Rome- Colosseum

Venice- Theatrical Mask

Austria (Salzburg)- Pretzel

Germany (Munich and Berlin)- Beer Stein

Amsterdam- Clogs

Paris- Eiffel Tower
London- Double Decker Bus

Oxford/Windsor- Queen’s Crown

Sometimes it was impossible to find a charm or I ran out of time, so places like Florence and Verona in Italy I didn’t bother to buy one, plus I already had two for Italy. So don’t feel like you have to buy one for every single place, just carefully select your charms to be a highlight tour of your trip.

Each charm was around 5-10 Euros, so it was pretty cheap to gather a whole collection of worldly charms! My friend bought me a silver charm bracelet when I returned as a present, so I used that to put the charms on. I just took it to a key cutting type place, and they welded all of the charms on to my bracelet.

I arranged them in order of where I went on my trip, so it follows the same pattern as my holiday did.

I bought most of these charms from little souvenir or jewellers shops in every country. Most of the big sites and attractions have little gift shops where you can find charms relating to the country. Failing that, try markets or popular tourist spots with lots of little shops.

Try to ensure all of your charms are a similar size, and consider the colour when buying (i.e. I selected all silver charms for a silver bracelet)

I absolutely love my bracelet, and it’s the best souvenir that I’ve ever bought (and it’s not even tacky or garish!). It’s truly personalised, a great conversation point, and a long lasting memory of your incredible overseas adventures. I’m headed to America next year, so plan to create my America trip bracelet next!

What’s the best travel souvenir you’ve ever bought or collected overseas?