Once bitten, bite me again!

I’ve always loved Duwop’s Lip Venom. It’s one of my favourite lip products and I just love the tingling sensation and freshly “stung” look you get when you apply it to your lips.

Now Duwop is going to allow me to combine my love of Lip Venom with my love of Twilight!

Duwop is the official makeup used on the stars of New Moon, the latest film adaptation from the Twilight Saga novels. To celebrate, they’re going to launch a limited edition Twilight-inspired range of makeup, including a special version of their famous lip venom.

Lip Venom V is described as “a shimmering crimson lip stain suspended in a venom-laced liquid lip conditioner with a super potent bite (watch out!), and contains argan, avocado, olive oils and vitamin E. This product should be shaken before use to represent the blending of the human and vampire worlds and applied repeatedly until lips are plumped, revitalized and the desired intensity of color has been reached.”

Okay, so the whole “blending of the human and vampire worlds” thing is a bit cheesy, but since I’ve already pre-ordered it, I guess I got sucked in! (No pun intended!)

For those who are too excited to wait for the whole range, you can pre-order Lip Venom V from the Duwop website now. The first shipment will go out on July 1st. If you use the code venom54u at checkout, you’ll get 20% off of your purchase as well.

Happy plumping!

Tags: beauty, duwop, lip stain, lip venom, makeup, new moon, twilight, vampire

Theme inspirations #1

Choosing a venue for the wedding is going to rely as much on my liking of the place as it will the actual theme of the wedding. Sometimes the theme inspires the venue, and sometimes the venue may inspire the theme.

B and I love going to High Tea. We’ve been to High Tea at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, the Victoria Falls Hotel in Zimbabwe and the Windsor in Melbourne to name but a few. So I was thinking, why not have a high tea for the reception? I’ve always hated long-winded dinners where you’re stuck at a table talking to people you don’t know. I want something relaxed and casual where guests can really enjoy themselves.

So many ideas have been flowing through my mind. It generally started with my favourite book, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. I can envision a beautiful garden setting, a gorgeous colour palette with deep greens and blues mixing with warmer pinks and oranges, tea and cupcakes, white rabbits hopping through green grass. Such a romantic, beautiful setting. It could be stunning!

I had some more inspiration from images I saw from the Rosemount Australian Fashion Week, held in Sydney this week. In particular, it was Romance Was Born’s collection that got me thinking about colours and kitsch.

The images are just sensational! They certainly get the creative juices flowing! Now to find a venue or two that could fit the bill.

Sonie xo<3

Tags: alice in wonderland, colour palette, creativity, garden, high tea, ideas, rafw, romance was born, tea party, theme, wedding

Where to start?

Having never organised a wedding before, it’s hard to know where one actually has to start.

I would imagine setting a date would be the very first thing (or a couple, just in case you can’t get a booking) and then finding a location for your ceremony and your reception.

My friend Andrew over at the O-vation group has had a lot of experience dealing with brides-to-be and insists that finding and booking the reception venue first is the key to success – this is apparently the hardest thing to knuckle down and you may have to be flexible with your date to get what you want. It can also take time to find the right venue, so it’s not something you want to rush either. Lock in your ceremony location as well, and the rest will get a lot easier.

Everything from the colour scheme to the photos to the music to the dress itself can be done in a more relaxed timeframe, so long as you’ve booked those two essentials.

I guess I better start location hunting, then!

Sonie xo<3

Tags: booking, ceremony, location, reception, wedding, where to start

Going to the chapel and we’re…

On 15 April 2009, my amazing boyfriend Brett proposed to me as the sun set in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. It was the perfect end to a crazy 27th birthday and I couldn’t possibly have imagined a more romantic proposal!

Now that the proposal has been voiced and the rock is safely ensconced on my ring finger, my fiancee has gleefully reminded me that the hard bit is now all up to me.

(Hang on, I thought proposing was supposed to be the hard bit?!?!)

I’ve organised many functions in the past but the idea of organising a wedding (let alone my own!) is quite terrifying. When you consider that the average Australian wedding costs $42k, the thought of the potential spend alone can send your mind spiralling.

So I’m starting this blog to document the process, not only for my own personal record of this special time but, as a way to give other future brides some insight into the crazy realm of wedding planning.

Join me as I enter the world of weddings – hopefully I’ll make it out alive (and married!)

Sonie xo<3

Editor’s note: I was originally posting these entries on a separate blog. I’ve decided to do it here instead, because I just don’t have the time to maintain more than one! All wedding related entries will be posted under the author ‘bridezillasonie’. Hope that clears up the confusion -S.

Tags: Australia, bride, fiancee, proposal, Victoria Falls, wedding, Zimbabwe

Rourke – a victim of Hollywood backlash?

Mickey Rourke was a hot favourite for a swag of awards including the Oscar for Best Actor after his Golden Globe win a fortnight ago. That was until he went and defended former President George W. Bush for his stand on Iraq.

It seems that the Hollywood elite are already punishing him for this “transgression”, as today’s Screen Actors Guild awards results would indicate. For those of you who don’t know, SAG nominees and winners are chosen by their peers – and at least half of Hollywood fall on the left side of the political fence (have you seen this clip featuring a score of celebrities chanting about Obama like a bunch of zombie-minded cult members yet?) so I can’t imagine that they took his comments very well.

So at the end of the day, Sean Penn – one of the most outspoken left-wingers on the west coast – won the nod for Best Actor for his role in Milk. From what I’ve heard, it’s a good film but Penn’s portrayal is lacking that special something that takes it from award-nominated to award-winning. The film certainly hasn’t been getting the same number of rave reviews that The Wrestler has.

Penn would have been a safe choice for the elites, though, and it would have been quite a loud warning signal to Rourke – keep your mouth shut or your career can go right back to where it was a year ago (lets not forget that the Academy is made up of more Hollywood elites and they do the voting for the Oscars too).

I can’t imagine that Rourke is too bothered about it all – he hasn’t exactly been a Hollywood favourite and, despite critical acclaim, has starred in a score of box office flops. Last I heard, though, he was in talks to play a villain in the Iron Man sequel. Brilliant! He already wins!

So lets test out my little theory and see what happens at the Oscars next month.

In the meantime, I’m going to go and see me The Wrestler. It looks awesome and I always had a thing for wrestling when I was younger.

Tags: george w bush, golden globes, mickey rourke, movies, oscars, politics, sag awards

Fashionably frugal? O RLY?

With the current global economic crisis not looking to budge in the short-to-medium term, women’s magazines have managed to find a way to stay relevant during the consumer slow-down. Don’t worry about not being able to afford the latest couture and creamy concoctions (like we ever could before!) It is the year of the “recessionista”, where being frugal has come back into fashion.

I don’t think you need a G.E.C. to force yourself into good spending habits. After all, credit card debt is credit card debt whether you accumulate it now, or did a year ago. There are always good reasons to stop spending so much on fashion and beauty, and ways to reward yourself for doing the right thing as well. Try these on for a gander:

1. Do it yourself – do you really need to pay over $50/month for waxing, $30 for a mani, another $30 for a pedi, and lets not get started on the cost of getting your hair coloured. You can do all of these things yourself, all you need is a bit of time and a few products you’ve probably already bought over the years but never got around to using. Notebook magazine (which I absolutely adore) has an article on do-it-yourself manicures this month. All you need is an hour of quiet time and a few nail care products, and voila. I’ve started doing my toenails every Sunday afternoon – it’s so much fun having cute feet!

2. Use what you’ve got – We’ve all been guilty of impulse-buying beauty products at one time or another, and many of us probably have cabinets full of creams and powders we’ve barely used. So stop buying new products and force yourself to use up the ones you’ve got before you go out and splurge on some more. Finish up all of those half-empty jars of moisturiser and then spoil yourself with a new jar of a more expensive brand than you would normally buy. You’ll save money in the long run, find yourself with a lot more shelf space, and get yourself into a much better spending habit!

3. Try before you buy – following on from #2, and because we’ve all fallen for the hard sell at least once, ask for a sample before you commit to buying anything. Try the product in the comfort of your own home first and see whether you actually do like its scent, texture and, most importantly, its results. Nobody can tell you how a product is going to be for you. If you absolutely love it, go back and reward the salesperson you originally spoke to and buy the product from them. If you hate it, then aren’t you just super-glad you didn’t spend your hard-earned on it?

4. Re-evaluate the essentials – what do you use regularly and what have you barely touched? Work out what the absolute essentials are and cut down on purchasing the anti-aging serum you’re too young for or the bright green eyeshadow that was in fashion for all of a fortnight. Buy colours that suit your everyday needs. Look for combination products where you can (i.e. a primer with SPF, rather than two seperate products) Once you know what you use and how long before it should run out, you’ll be able to budget your spending better and get out of that department store before you slip and lash out on something non-essential.

5. Organise time during the week to pamper yourself – why should expensive beauty treatments be saved for special occasions and cost phenomenal amounts of money? Follow on from #1 and work out a time every week where you can spend some time on yourself. Make some tea, run a bath, and then follow the beauty routine of your choice. Buy a jar of body scrub that will last up to 10 treatments for the same price as one day spa treatment. Do your own nails while you watch your favourite DVD. Go to your yoga class, then come home and put on a yummy mask to treat yourself for being so good. You’ll feel a sense of pride in achieving the results all by yourself, you’ll save the time you would’ve normally spent commuting to the beautician and back, and you’ll save some dosh too. Alternatively, invite a friend over and spend a Saturday afternoon doing something together, like colouring each other’s hair. It’ll be less messy, a lot cheaper and much more fun! And you can go out on the town afterwards and spend some of the dosh you saved.

6. Make it yourself – there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to make yummy products all by yourself. A former colleague of mine used to make her own body products for a fraction of the price using simple ingredients found in any grocery store. You can make it to your needs and you’ll cut out all of those icky chemicals, too. Just be careful not to make too much – without chemical preservatives they won’t keep for as long as store products.

At the end of the day, beauty addicts like me will always end up buying new products, economic crisis or not. It’s not impossible to behave, however, and I’m pleased to say that I’ve finished three almost-empty jars of moisturiser already this year. I’m looking forward to finishing the rest, just so I can treat myself to something new (Madame Körner’s Radiate Presence day cream, perhaps?)

Tags: beauty, diy, frugal, global economic crisis, product, recessionista

Christmas prepping #2

Got the turkey, so that’s one less huge thing to worry about.

The vanilla ice cream is turning out wonderfully; I’ll start thinking about making the spicy chocolate mousse and the orange blossom cupcakes at around 6pm.

Got half of the last few presents, with some other elements to be picked up from a local store in a little while.

Did more laundry, with only 1-2 loads left to go! Hooray!

Can’t believe that three local supermarkets were all out of pouring cream. How can there suddenly be a cream shortage? Gaah!

I just realised that I also need to vacuum, shave my legs and tidy my room. Just when you eliminate a few things from your list, a million more show up! No fair!

Tags: christmas, cooking, dessert, errands, holidays, prepping, stress, turkey, vanilla bean ice cream

Christmas prepping #1

Okay, so the homemade vanilla ice cream is going really well! It’s about halfway done, it just needs to go through the whole freeze/whisk/freeze/whisk/(etc) process. There was one step in the recipe that really worried me for a second – the whole “coat the back of a metal spoon” thing – which from previous experience has elicited quite the debate from chefs around the world as to what that actually means. Luckily, I was satisfied with this definition of the term and the ice cream is good to go!

I still need to go and pick up the turkey from the butcher, get the mail, do some last minute shopping, do more laundry, change the bedsheets, take Elvis for a walk, wrap some presents… and then tonight I will do the desserts and the salads.

Where am I going to find the fridge space for all of this stuff???

Tags: christmas, coat the back of a spoon, cooking, cooking techniques, definition, dessert, errands, freeze, fridge space, homemade, prepping, vanilla bean ice cream, whisk

Going crazy over vanilla bean ice-cream

I thought I was going nuts. In fact, I probably am/was. I am sure that I found a recipe in Donna Hay magazine to make vanilla ice cream without using an ice cream machine. I can almost see the page in my brain, it’s so vivid. I’ve looked through every single issue of our collection of DH mags from issue 1 through to 42, and I just can’t find it! So I google’d, and found a reference to a recipe in Modern Classics 2. We only own Modern Classics 1, however, and I haven’t looked through that in months. So WHERE did I see this recipe? Am I going COMPLETELY MAD???

In the meantime I’ll use the online recipe to make the ice cream because we need it for Thursday.

Tomorrow is going to be nuts, choc full of Christmas eve prepping.

Buy Donna Hay Modern Classics 1 from Amazon.com

Buy Donna Hay Modern Classics 2 from Amazon.com

Tags: christmas, christmas eve, cooking, dessert, donna hay, recipe, vanilla bean ice cream

Scrub-a-dub-dub

I’m an absolute scrub-addict and have used many, many different body and face scrubs over the years, always looking for the perfect mix of cleansing/moisturising power (it absolutely must leave my skin feeling clean, soft and supple – sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised!) as well as a special something that makes it stand out from the pack.

As of tonight, my new all-time favourite body scrub is Dr Andrew Weil for Origins “The Way of the Bath” Matcha Tea Body Scrub. To start with, it’s a salt scrub – which I’ve always found to be a better exfoliant than something like sugar or crushed walnut shell. The gorgeous mix of oils and matcha green tea smells absolutely heavenly, clearing and revitalising the mind, as well as leaving your skin absolutely frakking amazing afterwards.

Another big draw card for me is the link to Japan (a place I love! love! love!) and the four principles of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, “Wa (harmony), kei (respect), sei (purity) [and] jaku (tranquility)“. The concept itself evokes in the mind beautiful imagery and a sense of calm and, admittedly, that is exactly what drew me to this range in the first place (B always says I’m a marketer’s dream!)

If you do purchase this product, make sure that you get the bamboo whisk that is supposed to come with it. It’s absolutely essential, as I’ve been told that stirring with a metal spoon will ruin the formula of the product. There were none left when I bought mine, but after contacting Estee Lauder customer service they happily posted it out to me. Hooray for good customer service!

At around AUD$85 for a 600gm jar-full, it’s not a cheap slice of heaven for those of us on a beauty budget. In my opinion, though, it is certainly worth every dollar spent! Spoil yourself, it’s well worth it!

Tags: bath and body, beauty, body scrub, dr andrew weil, japan, japanese tea ceremony, matcha tea scrub, origins, way of the bath