Life Snapshots: A few things that are keeping me smile

The Tanning Angel Wordsmith Summer Special

Sponsored post by Wordsmith Lane reader The Tanning Angel 

Reading through the latest edition of Madison (October 2010, with Drew Barrymore on the cover), I was stoked to find an article on celebrity fears. Most of them made for a great and interesting read, but I was struck by Aussie actress Pia Miranda’s response regarding her fear about losing her identity in the wake of having her baby, and the mess that she has ultimately become as a result, and her husbands’ reaction to it.

Miranda says:

“Everyday I say to myself, “Come on, make an effort. You’ve watched Mad Men, you know it can be done.” Yet every day my husband comes home to a sweaty, tracksuit-wearing maniac with wild, unkempt hair.”

Miranda goes on to say she’s sweaty because she uses the time to lose her baby weight, or clean her messy house etc. And I was like wooah, this is the life of so many women, and I bet it would be different if they had someone to care for them while they’re caring for their homes and families, and looking like a disaster in the process. Well, perhaps the heavens heard, and The Tanning Angel is the god-send.

Fast becoming Sydney’s best kept secret, the mobile tanner to Sydney’s elite boasts a number of socialites in her little black book and is renowned for her classy, clean and chic-looking approach to an otherwise sticky (if you pardon the pun) situation. Last night, she sprayed a few Cosmo staffers prior to the Fun, Fearless Female event. She’s also sprayed peeps on the set of The X Factor, Masterchef and Australia’s Next Top Model. And now, she’s spreading her wings in anticipation of the Aussie hot summer to give wordsmith lane readers (and their friends) the chance to take on summer with a personalised service that includes a skin-tone assessment (because where bronze is concerned, it’s either chic or cheap) and the option of two solutions (2 hour Rapid Tan & 8 hour tan).

She whispers:

“Getting a spray tan is a modern day fashion accessory and it’s now as important as any other beauty routine. With music festivals, races and THE hottest parties on Sydney’s social calendar right around the corner, what better way to rock your frock than with a natural looking tan?

We provide a personalised discreet service, with added pampering and attention to detail. The Tanning Angel comes equipped with a portable spray booth for maximum comfort and privacy to have you looking like a bronzed goddess within 15 minutes. No fuss, No Mess.”

If any of you are anything like me, and prefer to waltz about in summer dresses in an unsightly shade of natural white (not at all like Cate Blanchett or Nicole Kidman, but that white where your veins shine through – eww) because you suck at applying tan and end up with a messy bathroom and splotches that render you looking like a farmer who has just cleaned out the pig’s sty), then The Tanning Angel is for you. You’ll know you’re in safe hands just by looking at her, and the effortless way she carries herself with style, smarts and savoir-faire.

But if you find the solitary pursuit of tanning in your home a little daunting, or are in the mood for a little bit of party pampering with your girlfriends, why not contemplate throwing an Ultimate Tanning Party? 4 or more girls and the hostess scores herself a free tan, or 8 girls or more recieve a bottle of champagne and other goodies!

The Tanning Angel is offering wordsmith lane readers a fantastic, limited-edition special over the next few weeks. Simply book your first tan* with The Tanning Angel and get $10 off – (must quote: “Wordsmith”).

Of course, when beauty comes to you, that’s one less dilemma. Now, if only Benefit cosmetics could send a mobile eyebrow tiner/waxer round to my place to tame the wild mess that my brows have become…

*Available by appointment only. To book your next appointment with The Tanning Angel, call 0424 700 577. And because we all love our social networking, follow her on twitter and on Facebook!

Wordsmith Weekly: Style, Smarts & Savoir-Faire Mash-Ups

• Wordsmith Lane reader Abi Moustafa and friends have recently started up their own online mag called Six and the City. Do check it out and support some young wordsmith talent.
• For smarts for the sisterhood, start reading Feminist Themes, a great blog I recently discovered through a tweet via Rachel Hills. Lots of insightful things, made all the more insightful by my slow realisation that, as women, we have not come far at all. I tend to think that our behaviour as women is a personal choice (my choice is to be a conservative feminist, despite the implied oxymoron) that needs to be made available to us. Sometimes I think the fact that we have not come far is in fact, to some degree our own fault. Then again, how much can I analyse what we wear and what we read in my head? Liberation means different things to different people. Last week, a facebook friend had on his status that men are measured by what they do with their power, whereas women are measured by what they do with washing powder. The sad thing is, in a lot of cases, that might be true.
• I am so excited by the return of voluminous 50′s skirts (thank you Marc Jacobs) to my magazine style pages, and sadly, so is my wallet. In the past week, I couldn’t help myself but splurge on two skirts and a dress from Review, which had 30% off full-priced items. I officially can’t wait until the warmer weather, if only to flit around in these fabulous, tulle-endowed babies in all their lady-like glory. Here’s a sneak-peak at one of these new additions to my closet.
• The latest edition of CLEO is out today. Love the internet app dating feature by freelance friend Nicole Haddow, and the ten lessons we can learn from The Hills.
• Anyone skitzed it over the cost of baby clothes before, or is it just me? Just bought a little cardigan and some pretty pink shorts for a friend’s beautiful baby girl. The pink shorts cost more than a knit I just purchased for my (way bigger) self at Dotti. Something’s not quite right here, and I think my fear about consumerism and the next generation (really on account of how I am going to raise my own planned family on a freelancer’s wage) is a lot more founded than I initially thought.
• Exciting wordsmith news: I’ll be running a panel on freelancing at the NSW Writer’s Centre (for the Emerging Writer’s Festival) this November with none other than Antony Lowenstein. I am simply gushing and glowing at the prospect. I hope he doesn’t think that I am a tool. [Note to self: Sarah, don't be as bubbly as you normally are when you meet 'big' writers for the first time. Your intern and other blog readers may appreciate your limited-edition personality (good alternative to strange, no?), but other people may just think you've carked it].
• I need help in maintaining my exemplary level of style, smarts & savoir-faire now that I am juggling too many social commitments, a thirst for more exciting life experiences and an unwavering love for anything that is a) girly and b) buyable? I can’t help but wonder how people do it AND pay rent. My car is currently falling apart (this is no exaggeration), my wedding is less than three months away, my job goes part-time in December, I’m paying mortgage repayments, and my wallet is still funneling copious amounts of money into various pursuits that seemingly can’t be shaken. Do I really need to go to my ex-colleague’s birthday every single year? Tried consulting Camilla Morton’s How to Walk in High Heels about an easier way to start saying no to social engagements in an attempt to save my sanity (and some cash), but it seems it’s harder than I thought if I want to save face. I think I feel an article idea coming on.
• Bits and bobs to read: This NY Times article on how language may shape the way you think (via Alex Veeneman of Le Football); Sarah Wilson on flakiness (very relevant to moi right now); my Show-Stopper-Copper beauty piece for Trespass magazine.

Wordsmith Weekly: Style, Smarts & Savoir-Faire Mash-ups

• Another day, another deadline. That’s precisely how I feel after a super-productive weekend involving a couple of Trespass beauty posts (plus one in draft format) and the compilation of a series of profiles for Yen that I was really excited to do (first person profiles are among my favourite pieces to write). I’m not sure if I should continue the wordsmith productivity throughout the week or if I should just relax a little, as hunching in front of this laptop is doing some major damage to my already shonky back and I am in desperate need of a massage).
• The latest edition of Instyle Australia hit the shelves today, with a Bohemian-looking Julia Roberts on the cover. Inside, Roberts talks about her latest movie Eat, Pray, Love (based on the book of the same name which I could not convince myself to keep reading, embarrassingly enough), but it’s the Bold Florals collection of frocks on page 120 that has really got me excited. Anyone want to donate $790 so I can buy the gorgeous Collette Dinnigan frock, or even the slightly cheaper Mrs Press dress for $595?
• Girls who are all about the style and the savoir-faire but have limited time to implement said femme virtues into their already busy day to day existence will love the latest treatment sweeping throughout the (hair) world. The Keratin Complex, in all its forms and all its glories, is a protein-based treatment thats brushed into the hair, blowdried and then straightened, lasting up to six months. I recently did my own hair to combat the frizz that has been part of my life since adolesence (it’s hormonal according to my hairdresser, which to me is kind of ewww) and I am in love. I have wash and wear hair and, shallow as it sounds, it has tranformed my life. All for $300. But, style and savoir-faire are useless without smarts, so make sure that it’s right for you by doing plenty of reading and research before you make the jump. I am still not sure my hair will ever be the same when it finally washes out, but it was a risk I was prepared to take.
• Most of you know that I am currently in pretty bride mode ahead of my nuptials in two months and three weeks time (but who’s counting?). I’m loving all my facials and therapies at Ella Rouge, but I must say, I have learnt how to compliment them at home! I’d like you all to meet my skin’s new best friends, Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant ($83.50) and Trilogy Rose Hip Oil ($19.95). I believe you have already met my Burt’s Bee’s Herbal Blemish Stick, but that takes the cake too.
• How easy do you think it is to spend $50? I ought to know. I’ve lost $50 in one day. The breakdown: $31 on a return train ticket, $8.95 on the latest Instyle, and $10.90 for lunch at Sumo Salad. Not good for a bride on a budget!
• Anyone catch Four Weddings on Channel 7 last Wednesday? Fairytale Bride Allana married a Simon Ayoub (of no relation to me) at a big, loud Lebanese wedding at my Church. Medieval Bride Tracey said the songs were so long and went “on and on and on and on”. I tell you though, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
• All in all, a busy week ahead. I’m quite glad that Monday’s almost behind me, although it won’t be as bad seeing as I’m headed to the movies tonight to watch a media screening of Easy A. And I finally get to meet my intern this week! What are your plans for the week ahead? I sure hope mine include some posting! Although thanks to a few readers, I have a couple of guest posts lined up, so that should calm my buzzing little brain a teeny bit. Have a great week everyone xoxo

Life Snapshots: Mor luxury, less cost, lots of glam

The other day, I got to thinking that my new home-owning status, and the fact that I want to have children quite young, will likely mean that I will forever probably be in a situation that dictates that I can no longer afford my luxurious splurges. Those that know me and this blog will see that I love things that are Parisian-inspired, chic and well-crafted, things that come in dainty, pretty packages, and things that can tranform my otherwise frumpy self into someone who feels like a million dollars (the way that my Chanel tote makes me feel, despite the fact that I’d otherwise be sporting gym gear and frizzy hair). Fiance calls these waste of money purchases, and more often than not, he is right.

Not long ago, I got a MOR soap for a gift. I had not really known about the brand prior to that, and was plesantly surprised to discover that it was nothing short of a sensation. I quickly hopped on the web to know more (tee hee!) about the brand, and became one of their followers. Now, I find myself sliding up to the MOR section at Myer (which I’d never really noticed before) to soak up and inhale all the pretty, frangrancy goodness that this Australian-made and Australian-owned brand is all about. And all the flavours of things are just divine.

The best part about it is that it injects that little bit of luxury in my life, minus the price tag. The packaging itself (love the wax seals and the ribbons) remind of a Parisian boudoir, and the scents of all the different products will just astound you. I’ll be giving my bridesmaids MOR candles and T2 tea cups as part of their thank you gifts, as well as shouting them make-overs for my girl’s night out at Benefit (so I hope you know I am serious when I gush about these things). I hope that they too will be pleased with the beautiful scents, pretty packaging, and quality product that even fiance will admit is not a waste of money. (And I hope he keeps an eye-out for their Christmas gift packs, which will make an awesome present for a lovely, glamorous lady).

In case you’re interested, here’s a sneak peek at what I am rocking right now:

1. Emporium Soap ($19.95 ): I’ve got the Belladonna flavour, which smells like cake coming out of the oven. Then again, my sense of smell is pretty warped. But it also comes in other flavours like White Hydrangea (pictured), Blood Orange, Mulberry, Lime, black cherry plum and lychee flower (which I also have, and which smells DIVINE), plus others. Plus I love the way that they are described on the pack – “unwrap a remnant of 17th century decadence” – which serves this sucker for advertising and clever marketing well. After all, I do feel like I was born in the wrong time.

2. Anything from the Marshmallow range: I don’t know if I ever posted about my Pascall Marshmallows addiciton. It was so bad that my family and friends staged an intervention. I remember going to my best friend’s birthday at the Lincoln in Kings Cross, and getting told off for having marshmallows in my bag, which I had proceeded to eat on the dancefloor. This sounds pathetic in hindsight,but back then it just seemed a normal pat of my (confectionary) substance abuse issues. Especially because my doctor shamed me for it because of the sugar build-up that was probably happening in my bloodstream. Now that I have weaned myself off eating the marshmallows, I have another way to enjoy them which saves my diabetes-prone self. And when you look at the tins that this part of the MOR range comes in, you will understand. (Pictured: Lip Balm, $22.95).

3. Belladonna Perfume Oil ($19.95): This is only tiny (9mL to be precise) which makes it great to cart around in your handbag, especially if you’re like me and favour that classy clutch purse look, as opposed to the oversized tote. Truth be told, this feels a lot less ‘artificial’ than a lot of other ‘perfumes’, which makes it great for everyday, but I think that this is because it’s an oil. Don’t get me wrong or anything, everyone loves a sweet fragrance, but after reading a post on perfume and what it can do to your skin over at Sarah Wilson’s blog, I am more inclined to get my scents from oils, body butters and soaps for everyday, and save the perfume for my nights out.

4. Emporium Body Butter ($29.95): Speaking of body butters, this one takes the cake of a few different ones I have tried. Love the velvety-smooth finish, and the scent, which is, pardon my language, a turn on. I never thought of florals this way, but there you have it. Anything can happen!

Life Snapshots:Magazine Moments, Uber Cool Nails & Hunter Valley Escapades

Wordsmith Weekly is not going to be too big this week. Just a bit of wordsmith news and a few points (and a few pretty pictures) about what rocked my socks this weekend, which I spent in a blur of wine and cheese tasting in the Hunter Valley to celebrate my best mate Danielle’s 25th Birthday (I almost wrote 21st there lol, she would have been pleased).

• I-DSubscribe, Australia Post, Camp Quality, Publishers Australia, Mumbrella and the gorgeous Erica Bartle of Girl with a Satchel are the key supporters of The Maggies, the national poll to celebrate the best magazine covers of the last year. Voting opens in September, so start looking through your glossy piles and give your fave cover the recognition that it deserves here.
• Dreary winter is one month shy of leaving us for good, but if you want to brighten up your days a little earlier, look no further than Face of Australia’s Brights nail polish range. I’m currently wearing the fluro orange shade called Last Call (Fiance, who usually mocks my style preferences, deemed it ‘sexy’) but I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the coral-red shade they like to call Sold Out (probably because it will be). Right now, I am working up the guts to wear Flipside, which is the lime green colour you see here in my pic. For those a little more conservative where nail colour is concerned, Face of Australia also does a Colour Pro range, which is chock-full of reds and pinks and other normal colours. But who wants to be normal?
• I’m having a magazine moment, and I want to buy everything now that September issues are hitting the stands. Vogue Australia has a rocking 50′s cover (those that know me well know that I would have loved to live in either the 20s, or late 40′s and 50′s), and Harper’s Bazaar has a major fashion issue happening, but my first buy of the week goes to Madison, which sports a piece on fake luxury items and another on whether you can succeed in your career if you’re too nice (speaks to me that one) in a chunky book size that will be worth my bucks.
• My Mad Hatter’s Kitchen Party is going to be a little more exciting now that my best friends (Danielle and Gloria) have bought me an exciting Alice in Wonderland tea pot to add to my tea pot collection. This one has the quote: “This is the most curious tea party I have ever been to” said Alice on it.
• Stay tuned to Wordsmith Lane this week for wordsmith news from around the writer’s beat and the world wide web, a new post for wordsmith textbook, as well as a beauty post that flexed my creative writing muscles. Plus more. In the mean time, I will leave you with a few shots from the Hunter Valley’s storybook gardens. Wordsmith Fun!

Books, Bags & In Betweens: High Fashion, Lowly fakes, and Harold Carlton’s Heaven, Hell & Mademoiselle

‘Please don’t cry, Monique, they say “identical models” but I doubt they will be,’ Chanel explained. ‘The workmanship will be shoddy, the fabrics poor quality. No one can copy the essential qualities of a Chanel.’

And this was the sentence that cemented my decision to love Harold Carlton’s latest book, Heaven, Hell & Mademoiselle (Orion, $32.99). You see, not long ago, I posted on my Facebook status that I was sick of Facebook allowing fake brands to advertise their wares on the site: not only was every fake I encountered tacky and thus not an accurate representation of the designer and the luxury that the house purported, but I couldn’t help but think that the obvious market for these fakes was promoting a lower culture that destroyed the appeal of fashion as an art, and that funded those nasties we want eradicated from the world (there is significant research that shows that fake markets fund terrorist training and groups, among other things).

As someone who has celebrated some of her bigger life milestones with the purchase of a designer good (if only as an investment piece that transformed my otherwise chain store wardrobe, for the use of a family heirloom and as testament to my love of a luxury that goes the distance), and who loves the appeal of advertisements for luxury brands and the chic factor they bring to my inspiration wall, I was able to really resonate with the sentence in Carlton’s book, which gave me some comfort in the face of my frustrations. Not because I had saved to celebrate my milestones with a material object (we all have our weaknesses), but because I would hate for my creative work to be so blatantly copied in a manner that denounced its value. High fashion and couture is art, so where is its copyright and why are we so quick to embrace the lows of it? Surely we know when we’re not in the presence of the real thing, so why buy into it? (I was given a fake Gucci wallet when I was in year 8. I was embarrassed, even at that age, to be carrying it out around).

I guess what I am trying to say is that creative licence is a lot more than money and style. It’s someone’s love and work stamped on something that requires effort and commitment (most designer bags, at least in the league of Hermes & Chanel, are hand stitched, and in the case of Hermes, made by one person), and the fact that there are some people profiting (albeit in a tacky way) from ripping this work and creative licence off.

The fact that I own a few real designer bags makes me very conscious of the fakes, and I am often quite smug (naughty!) at the fact that I can tell what’s real and what’s not. maybe it’s because I hate liars, and maybe it’s because I worked just as hard to save up for my goods that it irks me to see them paraded around at market stalls with no concern for their true value as a product. Then again, this is the difference in the way that people see fashion: whether as a statement or just as clothes, shoes and accessories that you scope out when getting dressed everyday.

The former are the type you’ll read about in Harold Carlton’s book, and maybe through his tales you’ll be able to see just how much fashion can really mean.

When I picked up the book and read its blurb, I thought that I would hate it and that it would bore me, but I was more than plesantly surprised. Perhaps because I had known little of the author at the time (his last book, Labels, was published in 1988), and I was overcome with a scepticism about how this man, whom I purported to be a fashion journalist, would capture the time, place and exuberance of 1960′s Paris with the might required for a book on the grand dame of fashion: Coco Chanel herself.

But Harold Carlton (whom I discovered actually worked as an assistant designer for two Parisian maisons de couture, and was a fashion illustrator for a number of high profile publications in New York & London) has done a maginificent job, not necessarily for capturing the essence of 1960′s Paris (the storyline itself would have worked no matter the time or setting, and to me, was thus rendered irrelevant to the appeal of the whole book), but for his great story telling, and particularly in his ability to weave together four very different characters, all essentially on the same mission: to find love and work in fashion in Paris couture.

The year that sets the tale is 1968, and four young fashion hopefuls have arrived in the city of love, dreaming to make their way to the top in the competitive and often damning Parisian fashion scene. They have all come from different, often fraught, backgrounds or recent events, and are burdened with both their past and their quest for making something of themselves in the future.

And, lest this girly scenario supposedly lend us the wrong idea that this is a somehow girls-only book, they are not all women: and the men play as much a part in the novel as their female counterparts. Monique’s chance encounter with Mademoiselle herself sets the stage for her successes, and her undeniable natural talent as a seamstress, sees her plucked from the workrooms to a place where she can command a lot more than she’s ever been used to: but will she let an adulterous man and her little relationship know-how affect her career?

Christopher on the hand, is not as devoted to Chanel as Monique: the boy just wants a shot as a desginer in the couture houses. Clawing his way to the top is one thing where fashion is concerned, but as he finds himself letting his English sex appeal get the better of him, he wonders about the choices he has made in the search for success.

Samantha is the New Yorker who has had Daddy pave the way for her too long. The only problem is, when she decides she’s going to make it on her own, she fails to realise that her brash attitudes is not exactly what french society is made of.

And then there’s beautiful Sophie, who has had everything she could have ever wanted out of life, except the answer to a question that has paved the way for her burdening insecurities a little too long.

As their lives collide in mash of fashion, society, culture and relationships, and all in a quest for work, they all begin to realise that what they set out to achieve is not necessarily what their happiness is made of.

Life Snapshots: Reasons why my weekend rocked

• High from a dinner out at Toko Surry Hills on Thursday night, I started it off by turning off my computer early on Friday night, and deciding that I was NOT going to fuss around about all the work I had to do. Instead, I took my kid sister Josie to Civic Video and she chose the all-star Valentines Day for her Friday Night In with her Big Sisters (you’ll meet her soon, she’s reviewing Stephenie Meyer’s latest for Wordsmith Lane). That coupled with the copious amounts of candy corn I ate after tracking it down at a nearby lolly store, and staring at the gorgeous book by JoJo Moyes that I wanted purely on the merits of the cover alone, made for a great night.
• Saturday was an average day, but all weekends cannot be of the grand sort. I went to be weekly osteopath appointment to treat my back (in the aftermath of my car accident it has been really painful and prone to various stuff-ups that I would rather not dwell on) and hit the shops a little while later, where I picked up a gorgeous Cooper St Clothing dress that I can’t wait to wear. The beauty of it is its desk-to-date factor: I can throw on a blazer for work and wear it with tights, then change out of those on my way out. Saturday night I hit Fiance’s Best Man’s Girlfriends’ 21st, wearing my beautiful black tutu skirt, lace top, black patent pumps and a gorgeous red high-waist belt recently purchased from Ebay. The look was polished off with one of my fave clutch purses: the black patent YSL Y-Mail clutch which I ordered over the phone from Perth luxury store Cult Status, and which makes me feel like a million bucks everytime I carry it.
• Sunday was pretty chockers. After an early morning mass at St Joachim’s, I went to see my future mother-in-law and Nanna, and they surprised me ith my very own Mad-Hatters hat (copied from the latest Alice in Wonderland flick by Tim Burton). It’s a little too big for all our heads, so it’s going to make a great centrepiece or decorative item at my Mad-Hatter’s Kitchen Tea Party this October.
• After my busy morning, my plus one and I headed to the Brad Ngata hair salon in Sydney’s Surry Hills/Darlinghurst for an amazing blogger event held by the team at Maxted Thomas PR. The event was a great way to catch up with the staff and other bloggers, as well as play students in the art of skin care and make-up thanks to the pop-up stalls for some of their great clients. Canapes and Champagne were free-flowing in great testament to this agency which recognised the contribution that bloggers and social media users make to the media/beauty industry. Sometimes it’s so easy to be overlooked in favour of the print titles and the like, so it felt great to know that our work still matters to the industry. Big thanks must also go to my gorgeous mate and wedding planner, Danielle of Entertainment Solutions International for being my plus one at the event.
• And before I headed home on Sunday night, to write like a mad woman (see, the work catches up with you eventually) and eat McDonald’s in front of the TV, I joined some bloggers for a visit to the Benefit store in Paddington, where I got my eyebrows professionally shaped and tinted (and then my lashes and make-up done too). I was so enamored with the store and its staff (and my new eyebrows, which almost a day later, I can not stop staring at in the mirror. I tell you, I used to be so modest but post-brow shaping and tinting, I feel rightfully vain) that I had to have a quick chat with their Brow Expert Hannah Terrett about the process and why it’s so great for the face. Try to ignore my animated hand gestures and my frequent use of the word amazing (as you can see I was quite stunned by the awesomeness of the whole Benefit Shebang), and do enjoy my first foray into Wordsmith Lane TV. If you want to check out the Benefit services for yourself (they come highly recommended from yours truly, among other, far more glamorous peeps), call in to your nearest store and check out some of their great brow, lash and make-up packages, most of which are redeemable for product. If you just want your brows waxed, it’ll set you back a mere $25 for a great session with the pros. Watch and see why it matters.

Life Snapshots: On my radar this week

1. The latest issue of Shop Til You Drop: Few people can fathom why I like Gossip Girl and yet dislike it at the same time. The answer: Serena Van Der Woodsen and her dramas, excuses and that ridiculous pout. But I must say she looks spectacular on the ‘feel good’ issue’s cover of the shopping bible – with a big smile to prove it. The feel good issue is all about putting a ‘smile on your dial’ with 102 beauty bargains under $25, 25 stylish reasons to stay in, a $30 Tonay Bianco gift card, a sneak peak into the shoes that will be part of their great shoe drop, and for all you aspiring magazine wordsmiths, a chance to edit the magazine and win $5000. Out today.
2. Burt’s Bees Everyday Starter Kit: I’m going to the Hunter Valley in a couple of weeks and those that know me will get that I hate clutter (in fact, I have written about this on the blog several times). I also hate lugging stuff around with me. I am determined to shake myself out of carrying large tote bags on a daily basis as they just encourage me to carry more than the necessities. Anyway, since I am only going for two or three days, the last thing I want is to be lugging about my full size products in my overnight bag (especially when i can reserve the room they’d occupy in my overnight bag with books and junkfood). This is where Burt’s Bees kits come in. I have recently fallen in love with this brand (now available in Myer & David Jones) because of its basic and earth-friendly range of natural products for everything from hair to hands and feet. Even babies are catered for in products that are made of natural ingredients like milk and honey, shea butter, lemon butter, peppermint, chamomile and grapefruit and sugarbeet. I’ll be taking the Starter Kit (cleanser, body wash, hand and foot creams, face cream, lip balm etc) with me, but you can get a kit of just about everything here. My faves are the Soap Bank & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream, and the grapefruit & sugar beet shampoo and conditioner. They both have the most amazing scent.
3. The Making of Modern Australia by William McInnes (Hachette  $35.00): This book has the pride of place at my bedside table this week because it’s one of those titles that takes you back and makes you proud of who you are and where you’ve come from. Best-selling author (and actor) William McInnes weaves the stories and snapshots of everyday Australians in this excellent book that looks at how our beautiful nation came to be since the end of the second world war. Whether it is the stories of how our social make-up and attitudes have changed, or the comparisons between growing up in the country or the big smoke, the book looks at the lives of returned servicemen, new migrants and children over the past 65 years to paint a beautiful picture of the great south land we call home. McInnes captures the history, future, soul and heart of the Australian dream in a heart warming collection. In 1966, my grandfather and his family migrated here and, it is through them that I have a mixed history. With this book, I can understand even more why they chose to become Australian, and I can safely say it’s the best choice they could have ever made.
4. My novel: After months of stumbling blocks, usually in the form of me being lazy or uninspired, I have decided as of this week, to wholey commit myself to getting this book out of my hair. I’ve even resorted to taking the next six months off uni to do it. Wish me luck.
5. Blogs of women I am currently jealous of (but in that Christian, I am happy-for-you-way): First up is Liv Hambrett, who as you all know just left the dreary Aussie winter for a trip to Shangai, London & Santorini (she and I have a special love for that particular Greek island). Not only am I jealous of her adventures, but at her ability to photograph. Check out her blog A Big Life  for evidence of her snapshot talent. Secondly, we have beauty guru and author Zoe Foster. She’s celebrating her 30th birthday in Europe as well, only I am jealous because of the way she looks on her holidays. Not a hair out of place! Great outfits (not singlets and shorts and rubber thongs), gorgeous hair, amazing skin. If I weren’t ashamed of myself right about now, I’d whip out my pictures of me in Europe and you can compare my frizzy-haired tourist look with her sleek Roman Holiday style. Granted, her prowess where beauty is concerned is attributed to this, where as I still need convincing that eyebrows should be waxed and comb-overs are what boyfriends falling out of love with you are made of. Lucky I have started chronicling my beauty lessons on this blog, because it makes me more determined to succeed in my tranformation from lazy, frumpy girl to someone who can brave stepping outside without fear of frightening people away. Next up, I am taking a virtual page out of Ms Foster’s blog  and looking at maintenance cycles. Except our cycles are VERY VERY different. Stay tuned to see how and why, but in the mean time, those who’ve said they’ve never heard of her might understand if they follow Zoe’s blog at Primped.
6. Fake Foundation: Most of you regular wordsmithlane readers know that I am not exactly what beauty queens are made of. Even my occasional beauty post is basic, used mainly to share new things that I have discovered, how to cut my routine times in half or use the best products to minimise clutter or tools,  or even, to set myself new challenges like convincing myself to break out of my dry skin in winter ruts. I mean, I don’t even like to use brushes of I can avoid having an extra thing to worry about. So you can imagine my joy at discovering Benefit’s Some Kind-a Gorgeous ‘foundation faker’. Ideal for those with very little skin woes, the foundation faker provides that even skin tone look we love in foundation without that cake-y effect. It’s cream to powder formula glides on with the coverage equivalent of a sheer tint, to give you an all round and even glow. This means of course that it is not heavy, and is ideal for a handbag to top off your makeup when you’re rushing to make your after-work plans. But I reiterate: girls with problem skin should steer clear of it if comprehensive coverage is what they are after. Perfect for travel (when y0u’re already channeling great skin but need a little pick-me-up for nights out) and for whipping out for touch-ups (because as you know, benefit products are what cool packaging is made up of). $53 from Benefit retailers.
7. Omnilux Light Therapy & my Skin Gym sessions at Ella Rouge: I just joined a skin gym and I am in love. Yes it’s pricey at $999 but considering you get over $1500 and 17 facial treatments (including a mix of omnilux light therapy, which gives you an amazing glow using a non-invasive light method, scrubs, peels, extraction treatments and oxygen therapies) it is so worth it. If you’re in Sydney, visit the Ella Rouge website pronto and try at least one omnilux light therapy session for yourself. Plus, it’s buy two treatments and get one free this July.
8. My latest article in Madison magazine: I am pretty happy to be  one of those people who strives to (and eventually succeeds in) making considerable dents in my goals list on a regular basis, but when I can get a feature in what I consider to be a high-brow women’s magazine on my thesis topic, I am ecstatic – especially when I hit two birds with one stone and that magazine is on my goals list. The latest issue of Madison magazine (August) features my piece ‘When I grow up I want to be a Gangster’, (incentive to buy: good reading, as well as a scarf and $30 Mimco gift card) and I am super excited about it. But in the interest of full disclosure for wannabe wordsmiths, seeing my name in Madison did not come easy. It certainly was not my first pitch to the magazine, and those who are close to me know that I was considerably stressed out about it in the lead-up to the deadline. I interviewed 12-15 case studies, wrote three drafts of up to 3000 words each (the final piece was around 2200 words, but the magazine cut it down to their desired 1800 – not always their preference) and had a very limiting deadline. Plus, the case studies I was looking for were not your average Aussies other – how many peeps do you know who were shot or stabbed at school, or witnessed such behaviour. Anyway, just a bit of advice to those of you who think freelancing is an easy gig: it’s not always the case when you don’t have a massive pool of resources, and when you work full-time. I am glad I pulled through on this one, but there are times (which I will soon share with you) when I have not been so lucky.

In my shopping bag: Pretty, Pink & Parisian Traveller’s Cup

Unless I have an occasion, I usually look like crap at most times of the day (dishevelled hair and no make-up), let alone in the morning. Good thing I found this traveller’s cup then, to distract from my dreary appearance and give me some style cred on those mornings at the train station, T2 tea in hand.

I mean, isn’t this thermos cup/traveller’s cup the most dalring little thing? I discovered the stationary concept store TYPO for the first time today, and I am nothing short of in love. I could have spent so much money there had I not restrained myself (Lebanese weddings do not come cheap)…but I still walked away feeling slighted for not purchasing the pretty Parisian-themed notebooks and paper clips, the various bookends, and a pretty laptop case.

For all you wordsmiths out there who could use a little motivation, swap your traditional writing materials for these vibrant ones, and watch the love spread in your work. C’est magnifique!