Guest Post #2: Beyond the Vanity – A Personal Revelation

 Fairly recently I have worked with the lovely Charlotte on a guest post about how to pack makeup and fashion essentials, and much to our satisfaction we both loved how it turned out. Right after I went on a month long trip which was supposed to end in Thailand, but actually took me much further. My friends and I got the opportunity to go further, and actually got all the way to Bhutan (and don’t ask me why there, we just felt like an adventure should happen).

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As I went deeper into the countryside and away from the bigger cities, I met locals and got to see how they work, what they do, how kind they are, and how indifferent they felt about me with or without the makeup I wore, with my hair in a messy bun or perfectly straightened, etc. This stunned me beyond belief and I started thinking about why we have become so vain and what we actually value- the person or the perception of a person.

For anyone who has travelled a fair bit as I have, the fact that you don’t really wear any makeup during this kind of trip is not foreign to you. For me it was pretty strange at first, because I just wasn’t used to it, living in the city, going to work or uni every day, and just having normal everyday obligations like the rest of humanity. It hit me then that I actually never went for such a long trip, where I was so out of my daily routine, and to be quite honest, it felt really good to escape the “standard” we live in daily, both obligation and makeup wise. Trust me, the refreshing feeling of not giving a damn about what anyone thinks about your skin, you hairdo, your messy eyebrows or chipped nails was completely liberating.

There are things you should take care of health wise of course, but makeup was not one of them. When I was preparing for the trip I wanted to take all the precautionary measures so I visited a few doctors and skin clinics in Penrith, because I did have some acne and skin problems before and wanted to know what I should avoid to have those problems flare up again like they did in the past. This ended up being one of the best thing I did because I got a tonne of advice on how to take care of my skin “on the go” and not have to over pack my backpack with unnecessary products, and trust me girls, the lighter the backpack, the further you will want to go. 

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Back to my point – I now find it incredibly hard to go back to the way I once did my daily routine. Frankly, when I came back, I spent a few days just putting on makeup and doing my hair and nails relentlessly just to get back to the feeling of my old self, and yes, it did look pretty and polished, but I guess when you go au natural and accept yourself for everything that you are it’s just really hard to go back from that.

What I’d like to say with this whole post is that it wasn’t my intention to bash anyone who wears makeup. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. But what I’ve realised is that no makeup will help you feel pretty if you don’t feel it for yourself, and have no fear over what others will think of you if they see you without makeup. Makeup should be there just to hide our little flaws and not to make us look or feel like an entirely different person. Each and every one of us is beautiful, we all carry our own beauty, so feel the freedom and let it shine.

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A big thanks to Remi Mayer for writing another brilliant post! You can check out another post she has done for me here 
She kindly contacted me asking if she could write a guest post for my blog so she could gain some experience in writing. You can check out her Twitter here, and please make sure that you give her some well deserved feedback.

If anybody else is interested in writing for my blog, you can contact me by email.
Thank you!

Love Charlotte x

Fashion and Beauty Essentials and How To Pack Them - Guest Post #1

If you are anything like me, you have an itch to travel and do so as often as possible. The upsides are many: getting to know all these amazing cultures, taste different foods and drinks and meet some awesome people along the way. The downsides exist as well – there’s jet leg, being exhausted and sticky immediately after you arrive at your destination and, of course, that terrible question: what to pack? Depending on the time of year you will do the traveling, your destination and how long you’re going to stay at your destination, you will pack what you think you will need the most (and some extras too, probably). I am here to share my experience with you and give you a few tips and tricks I’ve picked up on my travels so far.

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Beauty on the go!
Before you start packing, make a list of things you will need on your trip. It’s important to take with you things you need to use every day and you don’t want to buy once you reach your destination. Pack your morning and evening products first: toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, makeup remover wipes, face wash, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, etc. After you pack all that, you can add a bag for all your makeup and different brushes you are using. My advice is not to pack too much makeup- you might think you will need a lot, but you most probably won’t use more than you use every day. Aside from my foundation, setting powder, mascara and a blusher, I also like taking an eye liner, a bronzer, a few bright lipsticks and a neutral eye shadow pallet, the Urban Decay Naked 3 being my favourite!

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What clothes should I pack?

For many of my first trips I’ve overpacked and regretted it many times. I would take 15 different dresses, three pairs of shoes, four pairs of jeans and a dozen tops with me on a 6 day trip. Crazy, right? So, after a while I decided to pack only things which go well with each other and which can give different looks when combined. Four tops and four bottoms can give you 16 different looks if you pair them up well. I most often follow the 5,4,3,2,1 rule: 5 tops, 4 bottoms (at least one skirt), 3 accessories, 2 pairs of shoes (flats are a must-have in my suitcase). Again, depending on where I’m going I’ll probably pack some extras. Sometimes it will be a bikini and colourful kaftans for the beach and sometimes it will be a fancy blazer to help me look more professional.

Creaseless beauty

Folding can cause your clothes to wrinkle; rather carefully roll them up. This way they will take up less space in your suitcase and will not be wrinkled (too much) when you reach your destination. I also suggest you put the tops and dresses on top of your suitcase because that way the heavier things such as jeans and makeup bags won’t squash them. If you’re feeling fancy, you can also check out packing cubes – I’ve heard they are awesome, but I haven’t tried them yet. If you do, let me know what you think!

As you can see, it’s not so difficult to pack lightly and still have all your essentials with you. Thing to remember for your next trip: if you didn’t use an item on your last trip, you shouldn’t take it with you on your next one. Good luck and bon voyage!

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A big thanks to Remi Mayer for writing this great post. 
She kindly contacted me asking if she could write a guest post for my blog so she could gain some experience in writing. She was even fabulous enough to source images and link products that she loves which was a great help for me. 

You can check out her Twitter here, and please make sure that you give her some well deserved feedback. 

If anybody else is interested in writing for my blog, you can contact me by email. 

Thank you!

Love Charlotte x


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