Makeup organisation and my new makeshift vanity table

So we finally bought a stylish new desk for the study nook (pictures to come once we find a stylish new chair).  I was relieved that we could finally get rid of the cheap and ugly hand me down desk that my boyfriend has been using for years.

I was so happy about getting rid of it, that I even considered taking to this old desk with a sledge hammer to release my pent-up emotions about "stuff", but then I had an Oprah light bulb moment and I thought to myself I going to make a makeshift vanity table!

The results:

Not surprisingly the ugly desk looks a whole lot prettier (just) with a mirror and pretty girly things on top, also note the kitchy vintage glass for brush storage. Anyways this desk is in the spare room so the door can be shut at any time to hide it away.

Why the spare room? Well I usually get up before my boyfriend each morning and I would either need to turn on the lights or open the blinds to do my makeup - neither are especially nice things to be doing to someone who is trying to get a bit more sleep.  As a result I have been applying my make-up in the bathroom.  I have noticed however that over the course of each week the products slowly build up on the bathroom vanity which is not a large space by any stretch of the imagination (it's actually a very small space).  By the end of the week it looks damn messy to put it bluntly.  I find also that the majority of my makeup is neglected as I tend to use what has made it into the bathroom for the week (usually the same things that made it to the bathroom as the last week).

Enter the spare room.  Open the blinds in the morning and this room is bathed in natural light - perfect for putting on makeup.  Plus now that I have this 'pretty' vanity table, I have all the makeup that I own at my disposal which hopefully means that I will use it all and not neglect certain products.

What's that cool clear container that I see on top there? I hear you ask... well it's the KEJI 5 Drawer Desktop File in clear from Officeworks.  It was only $16.99!

The organiser also comes in a 4 drawer version where the bottom draw is twice the depth of the top three draws.  For the record, the depth of each draw of the 5 drawer unit perfectly houses eye shadows, palettes and tubes of stuff. Foundations can also be stored in there if you don't mind placing them horizontally.  Items that will not fit into the drawers of the 5 drawer unit are products such as moisturiser jars and powder jars, hence why my MUFE HD powder is sitting on the silver platter.

Yes, I know this Keji box not as cool as Kim Kardashian's makeup storage drawer set, but this will have to do whilst I wait to have my own custom designed box made up...

It's Oxymoron Time! (Time for Country Road's "spend and save")

It’s that time again: Country Road Spend and Save time!

I always try to take advantage of the offer because I have long loved Country Road and I want to maintain my loyalty status - plus I'm always after something new for work.  

I'm hearing and reading online that people are loving this new season collection, but truth be told, I have found it quite challenging to really like anything in store to say the least.  The cuts are not flattering and I guess acid pastels aren't really my thing...  

I spent 3 lunch breaks last week to progressively try on every item in the store to maybe change my mind about it - to no avail.

As always the sales assistants have tried their big sell on me: "but you can tie it back with the neutral pieces in your wardrobe".  But I’m my own person when it comes to shopping and what I wear – you cannot convince me to be otherwise. 

Furthermore nothing really seems worthy of my hard earned money.  Two of the dresses that I tried on (including the one on the far left in the image above) and considered buying were comprised from polyester!  Country Road, if you want me to remain your loyal customer, please do not make garments comprised from inferior fabrics! 

I did buy something in the end (not new season)... a dress and matching bed linen and pillow cases... both devoid of colour, both black and white striped :)

What I spent my savings on in Country Road...

Questioning minimalist wardrobes and in a fashion rut... again.

Earlier this week I had an epiphany moment.  I am a LAZY creature of comfort and as a result my favourite pieces are falling apart and I need to change this because it does not make me happy.

Get me into a dress which I feel comfortable in, and although it may not be the most flattering of dresses, you will not be able to get me out of it - until it tears!  Yes, that's right, earlier this week I found myself in the ladies loos (rest rooms) at work armed with a roll of packing tape and some scissors fixing my dress which I had worn to death.  This came only weeks after I retired my favourite black silk dress after the tearing under the arms got so bad that I could no longer lift my arms without looking homeless...

One would think that I own only two dresses... and it seems that people do because the moment I wear something different I get asked "Oooh, is that new?" (and it probably is, but then I don't wear it again for ages, since I'm in favour of my dresses).

Recently not a week has gone by that I haven't worn one of the following dresses on at least 2 weekdays (funnily the same dresses which I wore last Winter):

From left to right: Country Road, Adam, Country Road, Country Road.

In the image above, I have included both retired dresses - the Country Road animal print dress dress (any ideas what I could do with the fabric?) and the Country Road black silk dress which incidentally I have managed to replace (thank you eBay).  This replacement will be saved for occasional dressing as the fabric is too delicate to wear on an everyday basis.

I know that it's a good thing that I now literally wear out my clothing (how it should be I think?), but I can't help but feel sad when I do given I have so many other things in my wardrobe which could be rotated around to prevent my favourites from wearing out.

It has made me wonder again how some of the women who follow the "minimalist wardrobe" method of dressing manage it?  Is it possible that they are all Law students with only 9 university contact hours hence most of the time they are just sitting around studying at home or in the library in their James Perse trackie dacks? (For my overseas readers 'trackie dacks' is what we Aussies affectionately call track suit pants).

I don't care how expensive an item is, if you wear it constantly it will fall apart.  Blazers will develop a shine from multiple dry cleanings, cotton breton tops will eventually look manky (especially under the underarms from deodorant) and a delicate silk item will likely develop seam slippage if you wear it normally. That is move around in it typing, carrying files and what not...

I'm sad that my favourites are gone, but the reality is that if you wear things, they wear out.  In actual fact I think that I'm just surprised.  Until recently I never wore anything out.  I would buy a heap of clothing, only wear it once or twice and then forget about it as I bought the next thing.  When I was a younger party animal, you would not catch me dead wearing the same thing in the company of the same friends.  Then Facebook came along and the has-this-been-photographed-on-Facebook test was born before getting dressed to go out.  Haha... those were the days.

My aim for this coming work week is not wear any of the above dresses (granted I can't wear the animal print one anyway as it's torn).  This is my way of injecting some impulse into my life.  Can I do it I wonder?  I might even need to plan my outfits for this week!

To do list success stories

In the interests of avoiding the all talk, no action pitfall I have refrained from listing all the things that I need to get done to organise my life on this blog.  Instead I have slowly plugged away at each task I know needs doing in between work, household chores, social engagements and property hunting (this last task in particular is especially exhausting and time consuming)...  I have a few successes to write about.

þ Finish my cosmetics cull.

One lucky Vogue forums member received 1.5 kg of my culled cosmetics including MUFE, Dior, Revlon, Lancome.  It felt good passing on this stuff to someone who would get a thrill out of it.  After having bought all new cosmetics in the US recently I knew that I would never use up all my older stuff since my shiny new things were a lot more appealing.

þ Sort out my paperwork. 

My boyfriend is happy we no longer hoard old receipts and cc statements from credit cards I have long cut up and an identity thief is currently plotting to become me since all of this was accidentally thrown away in the regular trash.  I still have an old paper accordion file to go through.  I have a sneaking suspicion that it is home to phone bills dating back to the mid 90s (from my first mobile phone).

þ List the remainder of my culled stuff on eBay. 

The majority of the photographs ended up being over-exposed since I was photographing mostly black Winter pieces in the dark (I miss you day-light savings time).  Thankfully it all mostly sold.  I still have a few Summer items to list.

þ Inch a step closer to actually donating the items from my charity pile. 

For months we have had an unsightly box in the hallway filled with stuff to donate .  Last weekend I packed it all away and it is now sitting in the boot of my car.  Next time I drive by a charity shop or a charity bin - it's good bye to this lot.

I’ve been battling through a few let’s just say ‘life’ issues lately so I’ve really had to force myself to do these things.  It is so easy just to surf the net or to vegetate on the couch and watch movies even though it feels so much more rewarding to get things done.  Sometimes the easy route is not easy after all...