A Few of My Favourite Things...

(at the moment, anyway)

1. Daniel Craig as James Bond. I went and saw Skyfall last night and just loved it. Special shoutout to Javier Bardem who basically stole the show with his camp/creepy portrayel of Silva. I had my doubts when I saw the awful dye-job/wig they made him wear but it just suited his character so well! The reboot of the James Bond franchise only worked because of the fragility and rawness that Daniel Craig brought to the movies. I am really going to miss him :( I wonder who will be the next Bond? PLEASE be Idris Elba!!

2. The Broken Bells. A "supergroup" led by James Mercer (The Shins) and Danger Mouse. I love The Shins but their recent stuff has been pretty hit and miss. The Broken Bells are a nice injection of indie-pop to an industry oversaturated with tween dance-crap.

3. NYX Round Lipsticks. I mentioned these in my Save the Rabbits! post as a reason to get on board the cruelty-free beauty bandwagon. NYX make hella cheap cosmetics and these round lipsticks are SO pigmented! I have only two shades at the moment (Fig and Rose) but for $2.99 a pop you won't have to sell a kidney to collect the whole set. I just placed a big order with Cherry Culture, an online US site that sells NYX, Jordana and MILANI, and paid $30 for sixteen items and $20 shipping. The shipping is by weight but even if you add the fraction of shipping on to each item it is still WAY cheaper than buying from overtaxed/overpriced Aussie sites. Cherry Culture frequently has sales, too :)

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Save the Rabbits!

Every once in a while I get a bee in my bonnet about something or other, which results in me obsessing about that something until I finally acheive/purchase/kill it. Like the time I decided I wanted a cat. I spent several weeks fawning over every cute cat on the RSPCA website and wore Josh down to the point where he let me get one just to shut me up.

I'm with Stupid --->

Sigh.

SIGH.

At the moment I am playing email ping-pong (or is it table tennis?) with an eBay customer who is upset that her parcel hasn't arrived yet.

Eau de Bleurgh

Oh man, I have really neglected my blogging of late! Aside from some personal dramas, I lost a bit of motivation (I am currently trying to write a 100,000 word PhD thesis) and couldn't bear to write anything- not even my daily rants :( I still kept them going in my head, though...

Somehow, the personal shit has managed to sort itself out (for now...) and I feel inspired to start spewing forth my obnoxious thoughts on pretty much anything that piques my interest :)

Things That Do Not Float My Boat

1. People who use social mediums (primarily Facebook) to clog up my newsfeed with their bitching and moaning about their first world problems. In particular, the recent furore on the Lust Have It page bemoaning the shittiness of the "VIP" membership because it doesn't kiss their arse and make them coffee. Really. You pay less than $15/month and expect a fucking diamond ring on a silver platter? I suggest you stop your repetitious whingeing, get on with your life (although the jury's out on whether you indeed have one, given the inordinate amount of time you spend writing whiny essays on FB) and thank the gods that you HAVE $15/month to spend on unnecessary beauty products instead of, say, I don't know, LIVING IN A CARDBOARD BOX ON THE STREET. Or worse, having THIRD WORLD problems.

Neglect

My bloggy inspiration seems to have waned a little so I have been neglecting my ranting on this medium but never fear- I am back!

So much shit has gone down (or is it up?) in the past week and I am loathe to go into it in detail so I shall just be cryptic and say "the end is the beginning is the end". Never thought I'd be quoting Billy Corgan, but if this past week has taught me anything, it's that life can throw you a curve ball at any moment!! But you gotta just keep on going. And drinking. And going.

That's it for now- have heaps of stuff to review/bitch and lament about but for now I think I'll just have a beer and a donut :)

Happy Bogans Everywhere!

So, my mate Daniel and I went to the 1st Semi-final last night at the MCG. I used my Weagles membership card to buy two Platinum (read: schmancy) seats on level 2 so we were thankfully seated with other West Coast fans and members. Ordinarily I don't mind sitting next to the enemy, but it just so happens that last night's enemy i.e. Collingwood, are the most feral, bogan, toothless, aggressive group of footy fans I have ever encountered. Case in point: my boss is a mad Pies supporter and once dared to applaud a particularly good goal by the opposition team; he was rewarded for his good sportsmanship with a beer bottle in the back of the head. Yep. FERAL.

Hair: Yeah, Yeah!

I've lately formed a habit of plaiting my hair after I wash it. I wait until it's almost completely dry and form a plait starting as high up my head as possible. This is how my hair looks when I take it out the next day:

Today's Haul

Priceline are celebrating 30 Days of Fashion and Beauty during the month of September by sending a mobile beauty van around various east coast cities to give free makeovers, beauty tips and raise money for some very worthy causes (Heart Disease, Cervical Cancer, Alzheimer's). It doesn't hurt that they're also giving away goodie bags - all you have to do is drop a donation into the charity box.

Shopaholics Anonymous

I had a particularly good week selling stuff on eBay so of course I had to reward myself by going on an online shopping frenzy...

Review: Twilight Breaking Dawn Part I

Laugh at me if you will, but I get sucked into watching trashy stuff like this and by golly, are we are at the peak of tween trash. I will get around to reviewing the first three films at some point but for now here's a quick intro to the world of Twilight:

Review: Lush Ro's Argan Body Conditioner

I received a 45g sample of Lush Ro's Argan Body Conditioner (RRP $29.95 for 225g) in my August Bellabox and made a comment about how offended I was by the very strong rose scent.

Oh, how wrong I was!

eBay for Beginners: Part I

I have a love-hate relationship with eBay.

I have spent thousands of dollars buying clothing, shoes, electronics, makeup, arts & crafts and pet accessories from the auction site. Nothing beats the thrill of winning an auction. Unfortunately, that thrill can turn to despair when you realise that you overspent your weekly food budget on designer pet tags and fancy paint brushes. Especially when your cat doesn't even wear a collar and you have zero artistic talent...

Remember When... Chris Judd Still Had Hair?

2005

2009

That's what you get for leaving West Coast, Chris Judd. THAT'S WHAT YOU GET.

Review: MiEssence Nourishing Hand Cream

So... after receiving a truckload of samples in the mail it's probably time to start reviewing them (and others that have been sitting in my cabinet for months)...

Starting with a 3ml sample of Miessence Nourishing Hand Cream RRP $20.65 for 40g.

Happy Cry Over Samantha Jones' Terrible Choice Day!

You wake up this morning with Operation: Hide Cat on your mind. The house inspection is for potential buyers of the block of apartments you live in that the wealthy, evil, cat-hating landlord is trying to sell. You spent last night fantasizing about killing said evil landlord with his own shovel but have watched too many CSI episodes to believe that you could destroy all forensic evidence of your involvement. This fantasy will remain just that. For now.

Review: Tigi Catwalk Session Series Styling Cream

I received a full sized tube of this in the LHI August box (RRP $29.95 for 150ml). I don't use too many hair styling products- occasionally I use my Garnier smoothing serum because it smells nice and I (Shock! Horror!) never use conditioner.

Do You Duck? I Do!

Anyone who has visited my house has asked the question "Why are there so many ducks in here?". Allow me to explain...

Top Ten Favourite Words in the English Language

I read. A lot. Or at least I used to. Along my literary travels I have come across several words that have warmed my cockles immensely. I have subsequently incorporated them into my every day language, barely suppressing a gleeful giggle whenever I get to use them. Which isn't as often as I like. I hope you get as much use out of them as I do.

Review: Aurora Spa Clarifying Shampoo and Revitalizing Conditioner

I received 50ml samples of Aurora Spa Rose Otto and Nettle Clarifying Shampoo and Burdock and Rose Revitalizing Conditioner (RRP $40 for 500ml) in this month's Bellabox. There seemed to be some sort of rose-scented theme going on with their "Go Green" box, which is unfortunate because I am not a fan of the flower OR the scent. But I don't like wasting free samples so I decided to try them out...

Review: Avène Rich Compensating Cream

My face is suffering from winter dryness at the moment. I skimmed my bathroom cabinet for a normal moisturiser and realised that although I own a whole bunch of tinted, SPF and night creams I do not own one single normal day moisturiser. Pretty weird for someone obsessed with skincare and makeup, eh? I suppose I could have used my night moisturizer but somehow this feels wrong, like, what if my face falls off if I wear it before the sun sets??

Pilates: Yay or Nay?

A few weeks ago, at the recommendation of my favourite physio in Perth, I started Pilates. I have a chronic shoulder/neck condition and have spent the last 12 years searching far and wide for a cure. I am SUPER awesome at starting things (Tae Kwon Do, running, dancing, tennis, painting- the list goes on); not so good at following through. Usually something else will come up, I'll cancel the appointment with the intention of rescheduling and then accidentally-on-purpose forget to call. This time it was a bout of bronchitis :( Ive never had bronchitis before and it was a physically crippling experience. It started with a simple cough (that kept me up all night) and left me clutching my chest and unable to walk a short distance without making me feel like I was having an asthma attack. This, from the person who has had adult whooping cough, influenza, viral and bacterial conjunctivitis (at the same time!) and a bee allergy that landed me in hospital for three days. So, yeah, it was pretty nasty.

Review: Lust Have It August

Was pleasantly surprised to receive this particular "Luxe and Luscious" box as I was expecting something quite different after having a sneaky peek at other peoples' boxes. So, without further ado... 

Review: Bellabox August

Wheeeeeeee! My second Bellabox!

FFS

Item description: Bec and Leni Grey Ankle Boots
Item photo:

Question: Are these boots grey? Do you have any other colours?

What I should have replied: Boots? What boots? These are gloves! And they are so obviously yellow!

I have little patience on the best of days but I'm coughing up lungs here and for some unfathomable reason it seems the landlord has decided today is "Make intolerable noises in the stairwell with a broomstick" Day... so give me a fucking break and use the few brain cells you have remaining to ANSWER YOUR OWN STUPID QUESTION.

Bah, humbug!!

Здравствуйте! Рада тебя видеть

It has come to my attention that people actually read this blog. I am glad that my angry rants amuse people. But let us take a look at my audience statistics from the past month according to Blogger:

	Pageviews

Australia 221

United States 89

Russia 54

Germany 14

United Kingdom 7

China 2

South Korea 1

Malaysia 1

New Zealand 1

Singapore 1

WTF? Russia? At least I know a person or two in Germany (Hi, Pickles!) and the US. I can only assume that these poor Russians are being redirected to this blog by computer viruses or spammy emails. So, in honour of my Eastern European friends, I say Здравствуйте! Рада тебя видеть (Hello! Nice to see you) and recommend the following spyware:

AVG
Malwarebytes

до свидания!

Random eBay Rant

I super excited last week to have purchased a brand new Stella McCartney silk top from eBay for a mere $10. Less thrilled to find it in my mailbox this afternoon in a shitty A4 PAPER ENVELOPE, soaked through to the equally crappy plastic sleeve- you know, those ones you use for school?

I Like Stuff. Do You Like Stuff? Let's Like Stuff Together!

I try not to plug my stuff too often because I know how annoying it can be to have someone shamelessly flogging their stuff in your face on social mediums (or is it media? - Me? Speak bad English? That's unpossible!). But I must share this stuff because it is purty and Josh is sick of our tiny apartment being turned into a warehouse. There are about 30 enormous shoe boxes clogging every spare bit of space so if not for ME, do it for HIM. And if you don't know HIM then do it for ME. Or just pass this on to anyone who might like STUFF. Click HERE for even MORE stuff!

Down, Down... Goes My Dignity

So it turns out James Magnussen decided on a fourth career option; Coles commercials!* Why did I not think of this first???

Goats To Be Got

So... there are a few things I feel the need to rant about. In no particular order...

Three Things That Get My Goat:

Can You Dance Like Thom Can?

I ♥ Thom Yorke. Sure, I've heard the rumours about him being batshit crazy but if he keeps making music like this then he can drape himself in velvet for all I care. I FINALLY get to see Radiohead in November!! :)

The Big Flop

Any Australian NOT living under a rock would know about the recent hullabaloo about our (and I say it with the same National pride as that when we refer to "OUR Nicole") anti-climatic swimming performance at the Olympics. Most of the bad press surrounds James "Missile" Magnussen, a 21 year old swimmer who failed to win gold in the the 100m freestyle and performed disappointingly in the 100m relay. Australian sports media has to be the most unforgiving (perhaps alongside the Brits) bunch of wankers to grace London 2012. According to most media outlets in Australia, young James was a confident Australian hero... right up until he fudged the two races in which we 100% expected him to win gold. After that he was an arrogant, rude failure who disgraced his country and deserved to lose.

Happy Hump Day!

Well! After all the kerfuffle about missing boxes, the July LHI magically appeared on my doorstep the other morning. And by "magically appeared" I mean it was handed to me by my very own chain-smoking Asian Postman. He delivers me clothes, shoes and other goodies and in return I model a different pair of duck pyjamas each week. I'm not sure who's getting the better deal here so let's just say it's a mututally beneficial relationship.

I'll probably have to wait until this weekend to post photos (my personal photographer has a day job, too) so will do a detailed rundown then.

Three Things I Love about the London Olympics

I don't usually watch TV because the ads drive me insane and a tiny bit more "crazy" might tip me over the edge. But I always get sucked in during the Olympics... and particularly this year because secretly I wish I was British. I've never been to London but in my head I imagine that people doff their hats to you on the street and use words like "daft" and "chuffed" and "M'lady" a lot.

Review: Bellabox July

As I mentioned in a previous post, this box is spectacular!

Shameless Plug Alert!

Exactly one month ago today I opened up an eBay store. I don't hold any grand expectations of leaving my *cough* career in science *cough* but it does allow me to indulge in my one great love: shopping. The Flight of the Conchords express the dangers of fashion in this song. I only WISH I could look that good.
Anyway, the store is a mish-mash of clothes (Alannah Hill, Lee, ASOS), shoes (Planet, I Love Billy), sunnies (Playboy, Marilyn Monroe), skincare (Mirenesse, Stila, Mor) and the odd designer piece or two (Sass & Bide, Scanlan & Theodore). If there's anything that takes your fancy, Mates Rates definitely apply. Please pass the link on to anyone you think might be interested :)

I dare you not to be seduced by this song...

Massive Attack - Paradise Circus

Review: Lust Have It Ozsale Box

So... I finally succumbed to the revolución that is the beauty sample box. The premise: pay around $15 per month (or by a yearly subscription for $165- one month free) for a monthly selection of 4-5 high-end (and a few more affordable) brands of skincare, makeup and fragrance samples. The la-di-da brands are ones I wouldn't usually buy and sounded kinda cool so I scoured a few blogs to see what all the fuss was about and liked what I saw.

Adventures of Acne Cat!

A few months ago, Nikita developed these weird black poppy seed-like things on her chin. At first I thought they were fleas. Unmoving, no legs, perfectly round fleas. After typing "black dots on cat chin" into Google it turned out to be - dun dun dunnnnnnnnn - feline acne! Like most parents, I was worried about the psychological effect on Kitty's self esteem. Luckily, she doesn't seem to care too much for her appearance. Her main concern seems to be timing her daily trip to the loo to coincide with Josh brushing his teeth or having a shower. And by god, is she punctual. But I digress.

Once Upon a Time...

Long, long ago in 5AP (Anno PhD) I started a blog. It wasn't a particularly interesting blog. It had, maybe, 15 avid readers (10 of whom were bullied into reading it by yours truly). But it did serve as a useful outlet for my moderate-severe anger issues and frequent outbursts during annus horribilis (Honours Year). Shortly thereafter, I migrated East. Then my buddy Jason introduced me to the greatest social-killer of all, Facebook, and I frequented my blog no more. Actually, I thought blogs were persona non grata in cyberspace. Tweeting and celebrity sex-tapes were all the rage! Although I didn't make one (of the latter), I did open a twitter account and have thus far made seven oh-so-prolific tweets in the past 2 years. I can't imagine that there is anyone on Twitter waiting on tenderhooks for my next one (due in 3 months, I think) so, here I am. Nobody to "like" or "follow" me*. A new, clean platform for me to bitch and ramble on about a few of my favourite things, namely; B-grade celebrity gossip, fuckwits who cannot grasp the concept of bidding on eBay, the adventures of Acne Cat (I'll explain later) and my all consuming need to own new shoes/clothes/random useless shit at every moment of every day. So read my stuff! Or don't! Just know that most posts are likely to offend a) B-grade celebrities; b) Fuckwits who cannot grasp the concept of bidding on eBay; and possibly even c) Acne Cat. I'm back! :)

*Shit. I just realised that you CAN get people to "follow" you. Since when are blogs a popularity contest!? :( I feel so inadequate. Please, please follow me (I learned how to grovel from Kristen Stewart).