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19 Jul 2015

My Top Tips For Overseas Travel || Part 1




I'm SUPER excited that I've gotten the opportunity to head back to America for another holiday with my boyfriend! It has also come at a great time as I had spotted online a competition from ProBlogger and Virgin Australia calling for bloggers to share their top travel tips!!

I was bitten with the travel bug at a young age. I think I was around 12 years old when I had my first long haul flight. It was to London to visit my family in England. Since then, I have been back to England another 4 times and to America 3 times.

In that time, I think I've learnt a few little tips and tricks to dealing with having your butt sat in (I'm not gonna lie, not very comfortable) seats for a minimum of 14 hours.

1. Wear Comfortable clothing.
If I could look semi respectable wearing my pyjama leggings, baggy jumper and slippers in public, I would definitely have those on while traveling on a plane. But, if you're like me and look more like someone who has just crawled out from hibernating all winter then I'd probably go for some loose or breathable fabrics. My personal fave, jeggings. Sound daggy, but they look like skinny jeans without the digging into the skin buttons and tight waist bands. I'd also wear leggings with a shirt dress or just pull out the comfy trackies. The key is layers! I tend to get cold once lights are off and its sleep time. Pack some wooly socks and a cardy or jumper. Slip on or laceless shoes are the go also! Especially when leaving the States. Shoes have to come off to go through security. Slip ons help!

2. Pack an essentials bag to put in your hand luggage.
One thing long haul flights love to do...? DRY YOU OUT! Make sure you pack a little makeup bag with your main essentials. Mine would be: Lip balm! (Maybelline baby lips are the best!), makeup wipes to refresh after a nap (if you are so lucky), hand sanitiser for all of us germaphobes (also antibacterial wipes for the toilets and surfaces at your seat), a facial moisturiser to put on after you use your wipes and a hand cream! I would also pack some earplugs, Panadol and some refreshing eye drops (contact lens wearers, leave them out when you fly. Go for your glasses and put your lenses in when you get to the other side)
Ooh and a pen! For filling out those pesky customs forms before you land.

3. Always ask for the seats with extra leg room when you check in.
Any extra room you can squeeze out of an airline, take it and run! A lot of airlines these days have caught onto the fact that people will try and request the exit row seats as there are no seats in front and therefore some will charge you extra moolah for the leg room. These seats however, can offer the statuesque among us (I am 6ft tall) a lovely extra space of our own to stretch right out and help with trying to sleep away some of the hours ahead. You can also try and sweet talk the lovely ladies at check in to get you upgraded to business class. It had literally worked for my Mum and I on our way to London. We scored a business class ticket from Kuala Lumpur to London!! (Absolute Bliss!! I recommend everyone try it once in there lives... But, be warned. You will be spoiled for life and will never want to fly economy again) We were lucky this time around to have found an amazing sale on with Flight Centre and are flying Premium Economy with Virgin Australia! Can't wait to see how they compare with their regular economy!

4. Drink lots of water.
Try to always have a bottle of water on hand. Keeping hydrated is super important! It helps with the whole not turning into a scaly mess on arrival and your poor skin will thank you for it. Its also very handy for those times I think most of us dread. The turbulence. One trip to America, we got a constant bout of turbulence for a good two hours. Seatbelt signs were up. I started to feel sick, got the cold sweats, all I wanted was some water to help with the sick feeling but wasn't allowed to get up and all of the stewardesses were also strapped in. No water for Brooke.

5. Get up and walk about.
Being so far up in the air in a pressurised cabin can be a little harsh on our bodies. Getting up and walking about whenever you get the chance can help get the blood circulating and keeping you safe from that Deep Vein Thrombosis we all hear about. Even while you're in your seat, moving your feet in a circular motion and not having your legs crossed helps.

6. Try to get some sleep.
Just because alcohol is free on most long haul flights, doesn't mean you have to drink it. Alcohol and soft drinks cause dehydration. Being up in the sky, breathing recycled air drying everything out plus the added alcohol, not really the best. Plus it does nothing to help you sleep, if anything just makes it more restless. Try a camomile tea if they have it or a warm milk. Eye masks and ear plugs are key. I also like to have my iPod or sometimes the airlines entertainment have audio books or music to listen to. Anything to drown out the hum from the plane. Kick the seat back, get that dodgy little pillow and bend the corners of your head rests as far around as they come and use them as a prop! Try not to dribble on your neighbour.

7. Beat the jet lag!
My final tips for beating the horrid jet lag would be to try and get a good nights sleep before your flight. Set your watch to the time of your destination. When you arrive at your destination, if its 8am, try and stay up until a reasonable hour of bedtime to try and reset your body clock. If you get in early then try and have a nap, guaranteed you will wake up 8 hours later and won't sleep that night. Push through the tired for the day and it will pay off on a fabulous sleep that night in a real bed in your amazing holiday destination!

I hope some of these tips were helpful for you. I am now on the countdown for my holiday and will be posting a few other travel related blogs before I jet away!

Let me know your favourite places to eat in New York, Chicago or San Fransisco! I am all about the food... haha!

Xx

4 Jul 2015

Product Review || Maybelline Color Drama Lip Pencils



It's another lip product review! This time I've got the Maybelline Color Drama Lip Pencil.

These are apparently a great dupe for the NARS Velvet Lip Pencils, although I will have to take their word for it as I don't own any.

I really love these lip pencils. They are SUPER pigmented, silky smooth to apply and I didn't find they bled either! Score!

Being a pencil lippy, some people don't like to have to sharpen them and would prefer a wind up. I on the other hand don't mind. I think with a pigmented stick like this, it's easier to have a sharper edge to get to the edges of the lip better. (Colour in between the lines)

I am a big red lip girl, so of course I had to buy the two reds in the collection. Red Essential, what I class as the classic red lip. Lovely and rich with a blue undertone, perfect on any skin type. The other is Light It Up, a bright fire engine red.

The other two colours were a little out of my comfort zone but I loved the swatches, so I took a chance and I'm glad I did!

In With Coral is the most out there one for me. A bright pinky coral, it was a little harder to get a smooth even coverage with this one and I could see it getting a little patchy quicker than the others, but I really love the colour. I think the trick with this one is to have really well prepped lips and apply a little lip balm on beforehand.

The other is called Pink So Chic. A gorgeous dark dusky pink, again something I normally wouldn't gravitate towards but I loved the swatch. This is probably the easiest colour to wear every day, I found it a little less matte than the others which I liked, it felt more like a moisturising lipstick than a matte lippy.

I would highly recommend these to anybody who will stop and listen and I will definitely be out to (more likely than not) buy the rest of the collection.

I was lucky enough to score mine half price at a Chemist Warehouse sale, but on the regular they're only $9.95!

Available from the usual haunts, Priceline, Chemist Warehouse, Kmart and some Coles and Woolies!
(Priceline have actually got these on sale right now as we speak for $5.95!) Run, don't walk... Click here to shop!

I'd love to know what you think about these! Leave me a note below about which colour you think I should get next!


Xx





19 Jul 2015

My Top Tips For Overseas Travel || Part 1




I'm SUPER excited that I've gotten the opportunity to head back to America for another holiday with my boyfriend! It has also come at a great time as I had spotted online a competition from ProBlogger and Virgin Australia calling for bloggers to share their top travel tips!!

I was bitten with the travel bug at a young age. I think I was around 12 years old when I had my first long haul flight. It was to London to visit my family in England. Since then, I have been back to England another 4 times and to America 3 times.

In that time, I think I've learnt a few little tips and tricks to dealing with having your butt sat in (I'm not gonna lie, not very comfortable) seats for a minimum of 14 hours.

1. Wear Comfortable clothing.
If I could look semi respectable wearing my pyjama leggings, baggy jumper and slippers in public, I would definitely have those on while traveling on a plane. But, if you're like me and look more like someone who has just crawled out from hibernating all winter then I'd probably go for some loose or breathable fabrics. My personal fave, jeggings. Sound daggy, but they look like skinny jeans without the digging into the skin buttons and tight waist bands. I'd also wear leggings with a shirt dress or just pull out the comfy trackies. The key is layers! I tend to get cold once lights are off and its sleep time. Pack some wooly socks and a cardy or jumper. Slip on or laceless shoes are the go also! Especially when leaving the States. Shoes have to come off to go through security. Slip ons help!

2. Pack an essentials bag to put in your hand luggage.
One thing long haul flights love to do...? DRY YOU OUT! Make sure you pack a little makeup bag with your main essentials. Mine would be: Lip balm! (Maybelline baby lips are the best!), makeup wipes to refresh after a nap (if you are so lucky), hand sanitiser for all of us germaphobes (also antibacterial wipes for the toilets and surfaces at your seat), a facial moisturiser to put on after you use your wipes and a hand cream! I would also pack some earplugs, Panadol and some refreshing eye drops (contact lens wearers, leave them out when you fly. Go for your glasses and put your lenses in when you get to the other side)
Ooh and a pen! For filling out those pesky customs forms before you land.

3. Always ask for the seats with extra leg room when you check in.
Any extra room you can squeeze out of an airline, take it and run! A lot of airlines these days have caught onto the fact that people will try and request the exit row seats as there are no seats in front and therefore some will charge you extra moolah for the leg room. These seats however, can offer the statuesque among us (I am 6ft tall) a lovely extra space of our own to stretch right out and help with trying to sleep away some of the hours ahead. You can also try and sweet talk the lovely ladies at check in to get you upgraded to business class. It had literally worked for my Mum and I on our way to London. We scored a business class ticket from Kuala Lumpur to London!! (Absolute Bliss!! I recommend everyone try it once in there lives... But, be warned. You will be spoiled for life and will never want to fly economy again) We were lucky this time around to have found an amazing sale on with Flight Centre and are flying Premium Economy with Virgin Australia! Can't wait to see how they compare with their regular economy!

4. Drink lots of water.
Try to always have a bottle of water on hand. Keeping hydrated is super important! It helps with the whole not turning into a scaly mess on arrival and your poor skin will thank you for it. Its also very handy for those times I think most of us dread. The turbulence. One trip to America, we got a constant bout of turbulence for a good two hours. Seatbelt signs were up. I started to feel sick, got the cold sweats, all I wanted was some water to help with the sick feeling but wasn't allowed to get up and all of the stewardesses were also strapped in. No water for Brooke.

5. Get up and walk about.
Being so far up in the air in a pressurised cabin can be a little harsh on our bodies. Getting up and walking about whenever you get the chance can help get the blood circulating and keeping you safe from that Deep Vein Thrombosis we all hear about. Even while you're in your seat, moving your feet in a circular motion and not having your legs crossed helps.

6. Try to get some sleep.
Just because alcohol is free on most long haul flights, doesn't mean you have to drink it. Alcohol and soft drinks cause dehydration. Being up in the sky, breathing recycled air drying everything out plus the added alcohol, not really the best. Plus it does nothing to help you sleep, if anything just makes it more restless. Try a camomile tea if they have it or a warm milk. Eye masks and ear plugs are key. I also like to have my iPod or sometimes the airlines entertainment have audio books or music to listen to. Anything to drown out the hum from the plane. Kick the seat back, get that dodgy little pillow and bend the corners of your head rests as far around as they come and use them as a prop! Try not to dribble on your neighbour.

7. Beat the jet lag!
My final tips for beating the horrid jet lag would be to try and get a good nights sleep before your flight. Set your watch to the time of your destination. When you arrive at your destination, if its 8am, try and stay up until a reasonable hour of bedtime to try and reset your body clock. If you get in early then try and have a nap, guaranteed you will wake up 8 hours later and won't sleep that night. Push through the tired for the day and it will pay off on a fabulous sleep that night in a real bed in your amazing holiday destination!

I hope some of these tips were helpful for you. I am now on the countdown for my holiday and will be posting a few other travel related blogs before I jet away!

Let me know your favourite places to eat in New York, Chicago or San Fransisco! I am all about the food... haha!

Xx

4 Jul 2015

Product Review || Maybelline Color Drama Lip Pencils



It's another lip product review! This time I've got the Maybelline Color Drama Lip Pencil.

These are apparently a great dupe for the NARS Velvet Lip Pencils, although I will have to take their word for it as I don't own any.

I really love these lip pencils. They are SUPER pigmented, silky smooth to apply and I didn't find they bled either! Score!

Being a pencil lippy, some people don't like to have to sharpen them and would prefer a wind up. I on the other hand don't mind. I think with a pigmented stick like this, it's easier to have a sharper edge to get to the edges of the lip better. (Colour in between the lines)

I am a big red lip girl, so of course I had to buy the two reds in the collection. Red Essential, what I class as the classic red lip. Lovely and rich with a blue undertone, perfect on any skin type. The other is Light It Up, a bright fire engine red.

The other two colours were a little out of my comfort zone but I loved the swatches, so I took a chance and I'm glad I did!

In With Coral is the most out there one for me. A bright pinky coral, it was a little harder to get a smooth even coverage with this one and I could see it getting a little patchy quicker than the others, but I really love the colour. I think the trick with this one is to have really well prepped lips and apply a little lip balm on beforehand.

The other is called Pink So Chic. A gorgeous dark dusky pink, again something I normally wouldn't gravitate towards but I loved the swatch. This is probably the easiest colour to wear every day, I found it a little less matte than the others which I liked, it felt more like a moisturising lipstick than a matte lippy.

I would highly recommend these to anybody who will stop and listen and I will definitely be out to (more likely than not) buy the rest of the collection.

I was lucky enough to score mine half price at a Chemist Warehouse sale, but on the regular they're only $9.95!

Available from the usual haunts, Priceline, Chemist Warehouse, Kmart and some Coles and Woolies!
(Priceline have actually got these on sale right now as we speak for $5.95!) Run, don't walk... Click here to shop!

I'd love to know what you think about these! Leave me a note below about which colour you think I should get next!


Xx