Retail therapy

This is what happens when it comes to exam time. 

My second cambridge satchel arrived in the mail yesterday. So exciting. I got it shipped from a store called Davidmetnicole in sydney. 

 I got home from work to see this lovely big package awaiting me :)

 Its like pass the parcel! First layer, paper and wrapped with a ribbon. 

Bubble wrap! Im going to popping all the bubbles for the next few days now... 

Tada! Beautiful satchel. I was worried about the colour not being the same as the photographs ive seen, but its absolutely perfect and ive already worn it out twice! 

I wouldnt get anything bigger than a 13inch though, this already looks pretty big on me. 

 

Steph chilling at uni. 

Today me and my mum went on a MASSIVE cosmetic haul. She works in the city and has this corporate card to access a shop where all the makeup is discounted to ridiculous prices. 

If you dont know, Estee Lauder owns MAC, Clinique, Bobbi Brown, etc.... a whole shit load of top makeup brands. 

They have a store in the city where all the over production products go. The prices are incredible. Some of my stuff was only $10 when its like 50-60 in the shops. I cant believe i used to pay full price... Never again! Though ill probably never get to go again, it was a once off, they are incredibly tight with ID and security and its really restricted. Only certain corporate people can shop there and i had a pass for one day with my lovely mum...

Clinique is one of my all time favourite makeup brands. So i nearly went nuts when i saw all the prices. 

I already have a huge clinique collection. But today i also got: almost powder makeup spf 15, supermoisture makeup, clarifying lotion no 2, black honey cream eyeliner, all about eyes, chubby stick (my second one now), clinique eye palette, blended face powder transperency 3, superdefence moisturizer spf 15 and turnaround concentrate. 

From bobbi brown (they are more expensive), i got: tinted moisturizer spf 15, violet gel eyeliner (bb eyeliner is one of the best in the market), cream blush tint (i rarely wear blush - i can never get it even). And theres also a bobbi brown eyeshadow palette in that photo, but its not new. 

I dislike MAC greatly because i hate the retail staff and in store experience. They are incredibly snobby and rude and accused me of wanting to steal thier product recipe's once, when i asked what the ingredients in their products were. Ridiculous. 

I only got one MAC product, which was a mineral moisturizer, but i also use MAC prep + prime... unfortunately its the best on the market. Ill be restocking soon. Its really expensive but lasts a long time. I dont even wear makeup much. I used to wear it to uni, and work. But now i dont need to wear it to work, and cbf wearing it to uni. Its just a hassle. So i dunno when ill ever wear all this stuff...

I only got such a huge amount of stuff because ill never get good quality makeup for $10 ever again. Im pretty sure this haul will last me for years though...

I will reveiw my bags after exams. And i MIGHT reveiw my new makeup. Probably not seeing as most of you reading are guys, and therefore uninterested :P

Oh, by the way. Matt graduated! Finally! Yay!

 Rocking the graduation robes. 

 Me and Matt having a beer at Sir Johns Bar at Clayton. (I hadnt eaten anything the whole day, so i rocked up slightly tipsy to my next class lol.)

Of course i had to do a typical graduation "tossing hat" photo. 

 Twirly matt

Me wearing matts graduation hat and: a polka dot shift dress, flats, belt and my new RED satchel! I think my yellow satchel bag would have matched better, but it hadnt arrived at that point. 

Toolangi

Well well i havent posted in a month. 

I blame work and uni entirely for this. 

A lot has happened during my absence so im just going to dot point it rather than write it all out. I love dot points. 

- had photography club agm

- working at sky music (nothing new)

Okay, so that wasnt alot, but believe me... Those two dot points take up alot of my time. 

First exciting news: I got elected President of MPC. Im the first female president ever :) I feel guilty for all the other people who were running for the position too but didnt make the cut because they were all brilliant. But im so excited for all the awesome things i have planned, and having the authority to make them happen! 

Im also on the hunt for new photographers that i can introduce to the club. Its a mission. Must find all potential photographers at caulfield and make them join the club. If theres one thing i want more than anything, its making sure that the opportunites and activities/events i organise next year, are known to ALL photography enthusiasts!! (And this means joining the club) 

I also gotta mention my new committee of about 10? They are awesome. Im lucky to have such a great committee and i honestly cant wait to work with them next year. Top blokes. 

Second exciting thing. Working at Sky Music is awesome. My co worker used to be a touring musician, and he has all sorts of connections, including being "beer drinking buddies" with a guy at Maton guitars! This is brilliant because it so happens that the Maton website needs work, and i am in the market for a Maton Mini guitar. Basically, Henry, my co worker is helping me get a deal with them so i can get my $1.5k guitar in return for a couple days photography for Maton. Is this awesome, or is this awesome??

Ive even put together photos ive taken for Cole Clarke, Gibson usa, Ibanez, peavey, etc.... just in case they ask for my product photography portfolio. 

I also got quite a few shoots lined up for after exams! I just gotta make it through exams first...

Shoots being: 2 makeup artists, fashion shoots, glamour shoots, online fashion boutique, fashion blogger, a few musicians and bands... alot of couples wanting couple photoshoots... im excited. 

This past weekend i spent out in Toolangi for Matts birthday. I didnt take many photos because, well.... because i was lazy. The photos i did take, i cast lightroom magic over them and they turned out better than i thought. If i knew they would look like this, i would have taken more. 

Little fire from day 1

 Birthday boy

 Main house

 Fluffies

 Going for a walk in the forest

Strange letterboxes 

 Peekaboo

I thought i would be refreshed for the upcoming weeks after this little trip, but not quite...
Also i bought a parasol up in healesville that i was gonna use for one of my shoots... but i left it up there!!! Was kicking myself the whole way home. 

Reveiws and photoshoots

When i bought my ipad stylus from Dagi, they were generous enough to send me a few extra stylus' for me to review. I have the P504, P601, and P602.

P504 and P602 have the same capacitive tip, but one of them has a pen on the other end. 

 In order from left to right: P601, P504, P602. 

I gotta say, i prefer the P504 and P602 tips better. The P601 tip makes squeaky sounds, and has to be help on a certain angle.  

They are REALLY good for accurate drawing though! Just some quick silly sketch... I suck at shading. 

 

Curlformers :D Pretty sure ive been rambling on about there to anyone who will listen!

 I either sleep in them, for really defined curls, or just leave them in for a few hours. 

Btw vintage shirt i got from an opshop ^_^

 

*NONE of the following photos have been colour corrected/edited at all! Straight from the camera* 

MPC held a city workshop this weekend.  

 Matt reluctantly posing for me >:D

 Hosier and Rutledge graffiti lanes. (again)

 Heres a sneak preveiw from my shoot with Emily. None are edited. 

Matt, Macarons x2, and more red items

This is what ive been up to these holidays so far (apart from working full time at Jellis Craig). 

Exploring a new park. Matt with his snazzy new jacket.  

Macarons, second attempt. 

 Chocolate buttercream. Will definitely use a piping bag next time. 

The feet arent very good because i made these macarons over two evenings, as i didnt have enough time after work to make them in one go. 

My next macarons are gonna be: chai/chocoalte with baileys ganache. And green tea macarons. And dark chocolate mint macarons! For the lovely folk at Jellis Craig who have been very helpful and welcoming to me this past week!

 Macarons for Monicas 21st!

 New red leather plaited belt. This is sort of a dull red. I have all sorts of red in my wardrobe now.

 Red cloche. Been looking out for one of these for AGES! Finally i found one in a small shop near the office i work at!

Matt Park 2

Today i hung out with Matt. Heres a photo he took with my camera. Fairly simple outfit. I almost bought that cardigan in black. But i swapped it last second for a pop of colour. Colourful items of clothing scare me cause im always worried they will clash with my hair. Next on my list would be red tights like Blair wears in Gossip Girl. But ive promised myself not to spend a dime on clothes for the next few months at least! My following blogs/photographs will all be of my current wardrobe. Ill just be mixing and matching old items and nothing new. Lets see how long i last.

Im in love with peter pan collars right now, and anything high waisted. In this photo, its all new clothes: Dotti shirt, Lolitta shorts, and Lolitta cardigan.
I purposely cut my legs out cause i didnt have the pair of shoes i wanted for this outfit. Which would have been ankle lace up riding boots in grey or brown.

Park with Matt

This is a shot Matt took of me. I was showing him how to use the grass for a creative shot. Also how to use selective focus.

Our usual Brighton

Ive been taking Matt out on photography trips to the beach, park, whatever, and showing him how to use my dslr! He is picking it up really quickly and has great natural composition!
I shall just mention that none of these are edited. Im fairly lazy, so i dont usually retouch photos, unless its for a shoot or something.

This is a photo i took of him trying to be cute.

And this is a photo he took of me. I thought it was funny.

Lost car keys!

Went to a new beach with Matt today, and someone kid stole my car keys and buried them somewhere. Parents not impressed. A new set of car keys cost $250! :/

This photo is of Matt trying to get used to the cold of the water! The very blue cause i chuck on a filter and i must have done something wrong :S

This is at Edithvale beach.

Darth strawberry happy pants

Lol... matt...

Winter escape

I went on a holiday with Matt. And despite the terrible weather it was amazing! Hehe. These are some photos! We had a great time.

Matt sleeping in. We had like 3 extra blankets as well as a doona. Well... it was raining very horribly outside. Who goes to phillip island in the middle of winter? I took this from the balcony at sunrise.

He cooked me a candlelight dinner in our apartment room. Alfredo and wine.

Trouble

This is the photo that got me in trouble at work today! This safe is probably higher than 2m. But a colleague challenged me to climb on top of it, SO I DID! Then he took a photo and posted it on facebook where... this is the stupid part... he was friends with the store and area manager. Obviously i got busted.

On a brighter note, Matt created an itinerary for our little trip to phillip island. He is sweet.