Inspiration And Finding My Style | Megan

Hi girls!  Not long ago in our New Years resolutions post we mentioned that one of our goals this year was to find our style. Now I know this can be quite a daunting task and we often struggle to decide what kind of style we like and are constantly changing our minds about what we like think looks nice. Being seventeen and very indecisive I often find myself buying clothes and wearing them once because I decided it 'wasn't my style anymore' but the truth is that I never really knew what my style really was, I would buy whatever was a part of the latest trends or I what thought was cool which is totally the wrong thing to do I know. When it comes to buying new clothes the last thing you want to do is follow everybody else, the trick to buying clothes is simple, if you like it and feel comfortable wearing it then buy it! I know it's easier said then done but I've learnt the hard way (after wasting too much money on clothes I never wear) that buying clothes that you want is far more important then worrying about what others think. This year I have been trying to figure out what my style is and wearing clothes that make me feel good and happy because feeling confident in yourself has a lot to do with feeling confident in you're clothes. Finding you're own style can be a very hard task and requires a bit of courage but is worth it at the end of the day. Recently I have been wearing more of what makes me happy and makes me feel confident and so far I've noticed a huge difference in my self-confidence. Lately these have been some of the trends that I've been enjoying, the styles and people who I've been looking up to in the fashion industry as well as some pictures of things I love the look of. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and maybe got some inspiration of you're own! I hope you're inspired to go and find your own style and maybe be a little daring by trying new things! Trust me when I say feeling good in you're clothes makes you feel a lot more confident and happy about yourself! Thanks for reading and I hope you're having a lovely day wherever you are in the world. 

Lots of love,

Megan xo

What Happened?

So it's been a while since we've sat down to write a post and it feels like forever! We're so sorry for the lack of posts lately and I know we said we were going to continue writing more and focusing on getting more posts up but things have been even crazier than we thought they would be these last few months! We've been super busy and barely finding time for ourselves to relax that we just haven't been able to sit down and properly write a post. For me, I feel like I haven't even had a moment to just take a break and breathe, things have just been non-stop ever since I moved out of home. To be totally honest I love being so busy and have never been happier! But at the same time I feel terrible about putting the blog to the side for so long, I told myself from the beginning that I was going to keep writing posts but I let myself down! Just to make things clear, we are still here! We're not going anywhere, we've just had to prioritise some things lately and unfortunately our blog was one of the things we had to put on hold. It still means a lot to us and we're still taking it seriously, but we just think that in order for it to be the best that it can be we need to be able to focus on it properly without rushing it and we just haven't been able to do that lately. Hopefully things will start to settle down soon and we can figure out a routine that will fit everything in, until then we promise to try our hardest to upload more frequently! Hopefully we haven't lost too many of you and some of you haven't given up on us, we will definitely make it up to you with even better posts in the future! 

So that's what happened, we haven't gone anywhere, we're still here. Although it may seem like we dropped everything and disappeared from the blogging world, we can assure you we haven't! It's all going to change and we'll be back to posting frequently again in no time!

Love Megan xox

Life Update | Megan

Hello everyone! So these last few months have been kind of crazy for me and I thought it was about time that I sat down to share with you all what's been happening and let you know about the exciting new chapter that I am about to begin. Here in New Zealand it is the beginning of another school year and as most of my friends are starting their last year of school, I am lucky enough to say I am not one of them. The last few years of school for me haven't been the best. When I was younger I absolutely loved going to school, I loved learning new things and being with all my friends. But as the years went on I found myself becoming extremely bored and unhappy with school and I realized that the school environment just wasn't for me. As much as I disliked school, I wasn't prepared to ruin my future by dropping out of school so instead I started looking at other options. University for me has always been something I knew I was going to do. When I started looking at other options I found out that it was possible for me to go to Uni a year early and begin my degree instead of doing my last year of school (if I got the right grades). Naturally I did everything I could to make sure I had the best chance of getting in, I worked hard and figured out my goals for my future. I applied knowing that my chances were slim and there was a very high chance I was going back to school. About a month ago I got an e-mail from the university congratulating me on my acceptance. I couldn't have been happier! Going to Uni is a a huge thing but I know it's what I want to do! This also means that I will be moving out of home (what???). Moving into the university halls will be a huge challenge for me that I am super excited and nervous about! I've never really been away from home for that long and moving out at such a young age absolutely terrifies me! But in a weird way, I can't wait. I think the craziness of it all makes me even more excited. A few years ago I would never have even thought I would be able to do this, but luckily I've grown up a lot in the past few years and this is definitely a challenge that will be good for me. Although, I am not near enough ready to be a grown up and having to do everything independently and acting like an adult has already been a major struggle for me. These next few weeks are going to be super busy with the move in day fast approaching (Sunday!) and getting everything organised for my first week at Uni, but I honestly couldn't be happier. I finally feel like I can start living my own life and figure out who I want to be. I can't wait to start living the Uni life and figuring out who I really am. I really feel like this is my year!

The University campus is right in the heart of the city. I've always wanted to experience the city life and so it couldn't be a better location. However I recently discovered a Starbucks cafe right across the road from where my apartment is which means I'm going to be losing a lot of money and Starbucks is going to be making a lot of money. It also means I will need to join a gym. It's also about a two minute walk from the main street of the city where all the main shops are which again means my bank account is going to suffer a lot. With all the excitement of moving out and beginning a new chapter also means a lot of stress and a lot of things to do! I now have to 'act like an adult' and do 'adult things' which is highly unlikely as my maturity level is probably about the same as a two year-old. It also means I won't be seeing Gabby everyday at school anymore which is terrifying considering we spend literally everyday together and have been together for the majority of the last few months. Luckily the city is only a short bus ride from the shore and she'll definitely be visiting me pretty much every weekend! And my phone bill is going to be ridiculous with the amount of times I will be calling her. But besides that everything is going great in my life and I've never been more excited about the future! I'll be keeping you updated with future posts to let you know how I'm doing and if I'm surviving being independent! Oh, and I'll still be uploading posts all the time! Focusing on our blog is still very important to me and writing is one of my favourite things to do. Sorry for all the rambling but when I get excited I can't stop talking and then this happens! I hope your're all having a lovely day and have many exciting things planned for they year ahead as well!

Love,

Megan xx

January Favourites

How crazy is it to think that we've already finished the first month of 2014! We can't believe how fast it went, it feels like yesterday that we were standing on the beach watching the fireworks for the new year! But despite the fact it went so fast, with the end of the month comes our list of things that we just couldn't get enough of this month.

In terms of beauty products, this month hasn't been too big, we haven't really got around to trying a lot of new products but of course we do have a few. With it being summer we try to keep what we are putting on our skin as light as possible and we really try to keep it healthy so we have been loving using BB creams instead of foundations, we've been using the maybeline BB cream for oily skin as we both have slightly oilier skin and it has been great for us, it doesn't give a lot of coverage but it does what we need it too! Keeping with skincare two things we relied on heavily this month was our cetaphil daily moisturizer and natio mud mask, these really helped to keep our skin feel healthy after being out in the sun all day. Another thing that could be classed as skincare (we think!) is the cocoa butter hand sanitizer that we picked up from a local drugstore and it is amazing, when you are out on the beach all day or around town you're going to want a snack and we don't know about you but we hate the thought of all the things we might have touched throughout the day, so a handbag sized sanitizer is perfect and the cocoa butter scent is definitely a bonus! In our summer essentials post we mentioned our love for pastel nail polishes and one in particular has been a must have for us this month, that is a Revlon nail polish in the colour 85 Minted, it is a beautiful mint green that is everything we want in a summer polish. We like to keep things bright when it comes to lips in summer and this month we have found our favourite shade yet, the Topshop lipstick in Ohh La La is the perfect mix of amazing colour and creamy texture that is all we could ask for in a lipstick! Our last beauty favourite of this month is our perfumes that we were both extremely lucky to get for Christmas and they are Dot and Daisy by Marc Jacobs, after wanting them for so long we cannot stop using them although we are trying to because we want to make them last!

Now onto our non-beauty favourites and we'll start with our favourite movie of this month which is Frozen! We're sure most of you will have heard about this movie, it has been talked about a lot since it came out and quite rightly, we absolutely loved it! It is a classic Disney movie with characters you fall in love with, the cheesy happily ever-after story and the songs that get stuck in your head for days, it's everything you could want from Disney and it really is good! But moving on to something slightly more grown up we have been really loving taking photos of anything and everything we see and after Megan bought a Samsung front facing smart camera in the boxing day sales this love has grown so much and we now have way too many photos clogging up our hard drives but oh well, we'll look back on them all one day and be glad we took them! It's not every month that there will be a handbag in our favourites because sadly our collection isn't quite big enough for that yet but this month we do have one, Gabby recently got a Kardashian Kollection bag in a bright blue that we both are loving and can't get enough of, it's big enough to fit everything she needs and adds a perfect pop of colour to her usually monochromatic outfits! Finally we have to mention our favourite foods of this month and a big one recently has been watermelon, after being out in the sun watermelon is the best way to get refreshed as well as being super healthy so that's a bonus! But our second food (well actually drink) favourite is definitely on the more unhealthy side but it's too good to turn down, the Starbucks coffee frappacino with a pump of hazelnut is our go too summer drink whenever there's a Starbucks near by, which unfortunately for our bank accounts, is way too often! We seriously recommend this drink to any of you coffee lovers especially if, like us, you love everything hazelnut!

That's it for this month! We hope you enjoyed reading this post and hopefully got some ideas of things to try out, talk soon lovelies!

xox

Valentines Day

We don't know about you but to us the thought of valentines day makes us want to stay in our rooms and watch cheesy romance movies that make you cry every time (titanic anyone?) but even though we're single we want to make it as good a holiday as any. Ideally we would gather up all our girlfriends and have a girls night in or go out and party but if, like us, your friends all have boyfriends and plans for the night you're going to need an alternative, preferably one that doesn't involve tears! When we sat down to think of tips and tricks to survive valentines day we started thinking about what valentines day actually is, and really all it is is a chance to show someone that you love them but it doesn't have to be your partner, we should use it as an excuse to tell our family and friends how much we love them too because the truth is none of us do it enough. So, that's our tip for this valentines day, take the chance to tell the people you love that you love them! Bake them cupcakes, make them a card, cook them dinner, buy them a present, it can be anything, even the simplest things can make their day so much better, just let them know that you really appreciate them and everything they do for you. It's such an easy thing to do and you'll find that it will make your day better too (and distract you from feeling sad about all the happy couples around you.) So instead of spending valentines crying alone in your room eating that second tub of ice-cream (because we all know one isn't enough when it comes to the valentine day feels), spread the love and be around the people you care about and you'll have a much better day. Don't get us wrong, we love the traditional valentines day dinners and having pink and red hearts around the city so if you can have that for valentines go for it! Have that special day with your partner and enjoy every second of it but remember to show love to the people close to you too. <3

Happy Valentines,

Megan and Gabby

xox

<3

A place to get away

Sometimes when life gets super busy and your stress levels soar through the roof it's good to take some time away and relax for a little while. A few months ago (before we had finished school) we were both extremely stressed prepping for exams and feeling overwhelmed with our work-loads that we had no time to sit and relax to think about things and let ourselves breathe. We felt like things were moving at a million miles per hour and we decided that enough was enough. Unfortunately we couldn't just stop and quit school (much to our disapproval) but we did decide that we needed a holiday and something to look forward to so we could stay focused and motivated for our exams. We decided what better time than to go away for new years and make the start of 2014 as best as it could be! So with that in mind, we decided we'd go camping! Now we know that camping is a very different kind of holiday and not many people would enjoy it, but as students living with not much money this was the most affordable and logical way of saving our money whilst still being able to get away for a while. Personally I love camping, it reminds me of my childhood as my mum was a very spontaneous mother growing up and liked to travel a lot so we found ourselves camping quite a bit. Gabby however, had never been camping before but was just as excited (and a little nervous) to go! The place we stayed in was right on the beachfront in a small holiday town that was filled with tourists and lovely people. It was a beautiful town on the Coromandel and was buzzing with an exciting holiday atmosphere! We knew as soon as we drove over the bridge that we were going to have an amazing week.

The views never failed to be beautiful no matter where we went!

The campsite itself was quite small, but the people around us were lovely and the town was just around the corner and the beach right across the road which was perfect! A few of our friends were also staying in the same town for New Years which is why we chose that particular campsite. We spent most of our time soaking up the sun and enjoying the freedom of being away. The first few days were spent exploring and enjoying the beautiful views. On New Years eve we went to the beach to join the celebrations and to watch the fireworks, the beach was absolutely packed with people! The fireworks were amazing. The company was great. It was a perfect way to start the New Year and we couldn't have been happier. 

Soaking up the sun outside the tent.

You have to have treats whilst camping, it doesn't get better than smores and ice-cream!

The shops were exactly what you'd expect from a small seaside town, cute and colourful.

Being at the seaside, with no parents and no responsibilities, was absolutely perfect. It was just so nice to be away from reality for a bit and not have to worry about the real world, we were truly able to just relax and enjoy some time off and clear our minds. We spent a lot of time reflecting and discussing our futures, talking about where we want to be this time next year and what we want to achieve. It's amazing how a bit of fresh air, relaxation and sun can make you feel so good! 

Cooking on a little portable stove outside on the grass for dinner!

We made a friend! This little cat named Tomtom wondered into our tent one afternoon and we of course had to have few cuddles! (Don't worry, he was returned to his owner!)

There's nothing better than late evening strolls especially when you have view like this!

On New Years day we decided to start it off well by climbing Mount Paku, of course a soon as we started our hike it started to pour down with rain which left us soaked through walking up muddy paths but it was well worth it, we had a great time and we can now say we had our heads in the clouds!

Whilst at the top of the Mount we thought it would be cute to set off our New Years resolutions in balloons, we guess it was our way of leaving all the stuff from last year behind us and looking ahead to the year coming and we're so glad we did it, it was a great way to start the year.

On our last night in Tairua we went to watch the sunset, cheesy we know, but it was so beautiful and the perfect way to end a brilliant holiday.

This holiday was amazing, filled with hours of laughter, smiles, amazing people and amazing memories which we will never forget. We met some great people and learned a lot too (and I don't think we stopped laughing the whole time we were there.) 

If we could have stayed longer we definitely would have. We can't wait to plan our next holiday and maybe this time we'll splash our for a hotel (who knows!) 

Love always,
xox

Get to know me | Gabby

Hey everyone! It's Gabby now and I thought it was about time you got to know me better too so that's what this is but with a slight difference, after reading Megan's post I sat down to write my 25 facts about me I got about 7 and couldn't think of anymore, when it comes to writing about myself I find it a whole lot easier to just write like i'm talking to you because, well, I like to talk (there's a fact!) so that's what i'm going to do, just talk and hope you don't get bored! 

Okay so where to start? I was born in England and lived there for 13 years before moving over to New Zealand with my family in 2010, I have 2 younger sisters who I generally get along with but not without our fair share of arguments! My mum is French so I grew up speaking both English and French although after not speaking it properly for a long time it's safe to say i'm no where near being fluent in it. I have an unhealthy addiction to the internet, i'm on it constantly! Whether it's checking Instagram and Twitter or sitting down to watch YouTube videos or TV shows for hours at a time (don't judge me!). I LOVE everything beauty related, I could go on for hours talking about all things beauty and can easily get sucked into standing at a make up counter looking at every product on the stand and saying how much I want it! Although it does fall under my love of beauty, one thing in particular I just can't get enough of is nail polish, it's very rare that you'll ever catch me with nothing on my nails! I'm really into art and drawing although I cannot paint at all (seriously, I suck!) I tend to stick to sketches and water colour although I still have a lot of practicing to do before they are any good! I am hoping to study Architecture at University next year but who knows if that will happen, I hope it does! I can be extremely stubborn sometimes but don't worry, i'm working on it, I absolutely hate running (I don't know how Megan does it) but put me in a pool and i'll swim for hours! I'm one of those people who loves getting lost in a good book but I am also one of those people who can go months without picking one up! I have a slight (okay quite big) obsession with purses and handbags, it is a very bad idea to take me anywhere near them! I love photography and the idea of going out for hours to take photos makes me very happy, i'm still learning but it's something I already love doing! I have absolutely no idea what my style is and i'm guilty of spending an hour in front of the mirror swapping outfits trying to decide what to wear (and that's not an exaggeration!) Oh and I am completely useless at saving money which is not good as one of biggest dreams is to go travelling. 

Anyway I have rambled on for way too long, if you've managed to get to the end of this post thanks for listening to me get lost in my own head! I hope you did enjoy reading all bout me and maybe you feel like you know me a bit better, after all of that I think I know myself better! Like Megan said, thank you for all the support on our blog, it really does mean a lot, we love you! 

Talk soon guys!

Gabby

xo

Review | Urban Decay Naked2 Palette

Hello Beauties! This post won't come as a surprise to any of you as this product is known, talked and raved about all the time in the beauty world and this is no exception. It has become our go-to palette for an everyday eye and we reach for it above any other eyeshadows. Urban Decay is a well known brand when it comes to eyeshadows and it definitely lives up to it's reputation. The consistency of these eyeshadows is amazing and the pigmentation is beyond perfect. Despite the packaging being quite large and not exactly handbag friendly, it's brilliant for those days where you're unsure what look you want to go for as everything you need is in one place. The mirror inside is perfect if you don't have another mirror around you, it's bigger than a pocket mirror which is always handy as sometimes pocket mirrors can be just that little bit too small and you can't see the whole effect of the look you are creating. The palette also comes with a double ended brush which is brilliant if you are just starting your brush collection, who doesn't love a two in one?

The palette has 12 neutral colours, mainly gold and brown based shades that are shimmery with 3 matte colours included. The neutral range of shades makes it perfect for all eye colours and it allows you to create many different looks for both day and night with just this one palette. The pigmentation of these eyeshadows is amazing and they last all day which is great as no one has time to redo eyeshadow throughout the day. The amazing quality of these shadows makes it easy to blend shades together and achieve a flawless makeup artist quality look even if you are just starting out with make-up. Whether you are going for an everyday casual look or a more intense night-out look, this palette is perfect for all occasions! Although it is on the more pricier side, we can definitely say it is worth every cent! You can buy it for around NZ$70.00 (about $55 US dollars) which makes it a high end product, but like we said, it is totally worth it if you are willing to spend a few extra dollars and we highly recommend the Naked 2 Palette. We absolutely love it!

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We hope you like this review and found it helpful in some way.

Love,
Megan and Gabby

xoxo

Summer Essentials

Summer's finally here in New Zealand and that means we're going to be in the sun, on the beach and relaxing by the pool, it's perfection. When it comes to summer there are a few things we just cannot live without so here are our summer must have's!

1. Sandals

Obviously summer has hotter weather so you want to keep it simple when it comes to shoes and we think a good classic sandal can compliment any outfit perfectly, whether they're healed or flat they can add either a touch of glam or make an outfit beach appropriate and casual, a definite must-have for the summer months.

2. Sunscreen

Yes, this is pretty standard and you should have it anyway but over here in New Zealand you can burn very quickly even when it's overcast so this is a step we are careful not to forget. Personally we hate having to rub in sunscreen (so lazy we know!) and having greasy skin and hands for hours so this year we went out to find one that is less annoying to use and we found it! This SPF 50 sunscreen is a clear spray (leaves no white marks!) and is water resistant so is perfect if you're like us and burn easily! We love it, you just spray all over and that's it, easy and perfect!

3. Loose tops

We hate that feeling in summer when you get a bit hot and sweaty and your clothes start to stick to you, not pleasant at all. We've found a whole range of loose fitting tops that are perfect for both our styles, things like slightly over sized printed tee's, simple chiffon cami's and baggy crop tops. There really is something for everyone and trust us when we say they're worth it!

4. Sunglasses

We're sure that sunglasses are on everyone's summer essentials list but if they're not they should be! Obviously sunglasses are great for protecting your eyes but we found it impossible to leave the house without them this summer, on those days where it's just to hot to do your make-up nicely sunglasses will be your best friend, throw on some tinted lip balm and concealer if you need it and no one will notice any difference!

5. Pastel Nail Polish

When it comes to summer style we think think light and bright and while neons aren't really our thing we hopped on the pastel train straight away, we love all of them! You can never go wrong with a pale pink, mint green or a classic white in the summer, they go with everything and are a simple touch to brighten up any outfit!

6. Denim Shorts

Summer isn't summer without your favourite pair of denim shorts, no matter how many years go by and how many trends come and go the denim shorts will always be there to fall back on and we love them! There's nothing better than having your summer tan, throwing on your shorts and showing of your legs, and denims are the perfect way to do just that! 

7. Rompers

Rompers are perfect for any summers day! They are so nice and can be thrown over a bikini after a day at the beach. They are the perfect fashion item for summer and can be worn with a few bracelets and some casual sandals or can be dressed up with a necklace and wedges. 

8. Shift Dresses

Now when it comes to fashion essentials for the summer, everybody has different ideas of what they think is essential for summer and as the trends are always changing it is often a difficult task trying to find must have fashion items but we think shift dresses are probably the dresses of the season. Although sift dresses don't suit everybody and can often be unflattering, when you find the perfect shift dress you'll have trouble taking it off! We personally love floral ones, but we also adore the simple ones too.

9. Festival Shorts

These have definitely become a major trend this season, we love the simplicity and chic style of these shorts and they are perfect for a day at the beach or if you're going to a music event or festival.

10. Floppy Hats

We are so guilty of falling in love with every floppy hat we see at the shops. We just simply can't walk past one without stopping to admire them. Although they are very subjective and you either love them or hate them, we happen to absolutely love them! They are perfect for pretty much any outfit and keep the sun out of you're eyes (what else do you need!)

We hope you liked this post and found it helpful, let us know if you have any requests on what posts you would like us to do. Enjoy your summer guys!

Love,

Megan and Gabby 

xox