Quick Snaps

A couple of highlights from our week - apart from launching our brand new blog of course!

1: Out the other night, snapped this cute table setting.

2: Home made Afghans, so quick and easy to make!

Have a great weekend!

Kevin Murphy COLOR.BUG

I love changing up my hair, but I don't think I'd be brave enough to do it permanently - so when I heard about the Kevin Murphy COLOR.BUG - I knew I had to have it!

This is a great little product - it's like make-up for your hair and washes out (I have platinum blonde hair and it needs a bit of extra shampooing at the ends, but otherwise it comes out pretty easy).

Perfect for a fun night out or a cute festival look - the COLOR.BUG is a great buy at just $25.

It is really easy to use - it is a sort of chalk that easily rubs onto your hair. Make sure you pop a towel around your neck when you apply it though - as you don't want to get it on your clothes. I would also pat it down a bit after you apply to get off any excess. I probably wouldn't recommend wearing white with it just in case of colour transferring... But all in all - highly recommended :)

Sweet treat of the week: Lindt Blueberry Intense

It's pretty much good for you since it's dark chocolate, blueberries and almonds; and the squares are the perfect portion size to curb a sugar craving.

The blueberry pieces have a candied sugar texture which contrasts perfectly with the smooth chocolate, whilst the almond slivers give a good crunch.

Bliss!

My two cents on scents

Smell and memory are so closely intertwined in our lives - the slightest whiff of something can bring back a flood of emotion - be it tears, smiles or just pure nostalgia. Choosing a perfume is quite an intimate process - as you are choosing the scent that will define not only moments in your life - but moments to those around you.

I look back over the perfumes I have had so far and they bring back vivid images of my life; it's quite incredible what scents can do - that's why you have to be so careful when choosing one.

DKNY Be Delicious smells like fourth form - the first perfume I ever had. In its green apple shaped bottle. It was the fragrance all my friends had, and as you wanted to smell like everyone else.

Britney Spears Curious - Yes. Again - fourth form, and I honestly love this scent. It is so fun and playful - desptite the slightly (or not so slightly) garish bottle.

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle - My neighbours had gone home to France for a holiday - and they came back with gifts. To me - their fifteen-year-old neighbour/ babysitter they gave Chanel Coco Mademoiselle - "all the women in Paris wear this darling, I thought you might like". Unaware of the price tag on this little bottle... I used it like Impulse. This scent brings back high school like no other - and makes me smile every time.

Calvin Klein Euphoria - This still remains one of my favourites, it is a sensual musky scent that I love. I wore this through sixth form - I am trying to remember what exactly happened in sixth form... but if I had a bottle of this here and I could take a sniff, I'm sure it would all come back to me.

Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb - Probably like every girl on this planet I have owned the now iconic Flower Bomb. I would almost say that this fragrance has defined my generation - it smells like university, a gorgeous boy with curly blonde locks, and falling in love.

At the moment I am swapping between two fragrances: Oh Lola! by Marc Jacobs and Lancome Midnight Rose Tresor.

Oh, Lola! by Marc Jacobs is slightly lighter than the original Lola, and I agree with the official copy on the product that it is 'flirty and fun'. I love it for a night out - but it is still heavy enough for work.

However, my absolute favourite at the moment is Lancome Midnight Rose Tresor. It smells so scrumptious - I always get comments on how yummy it is, even by total strangers. It is like raspberries lollies - and I hope when I get a whiff of this scent as someone walks past me in a few years it brings back memories of nothing but smiles.

My tips on choosing a fragrance:

• Really think about what you like on other people and why - but don't buy something a person you see regularly already has. Make your own story with your own scent - there are so many out there. Instead focus on what you like about your friends fragrance - is it fruity? Floral? Musky? Sweet? And go from there...
• A scent is a very personal thing - but it doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive thing. One of my favourite scents is a Body Shop vanilla perfume that is only thirty dollars.
• If you have gone through something and are ready to move on - or want to start over. Buying a new perfume is a great way to begin your journey. Set the mood for the new you - you don't want to get up and spray on the scent of your past life.
• Don't buy straight away - particularly if you are prone to sinus-y headaches. I personally can't handle Coco Mademoiselle any more and will have a migraine within an hour of trying it on. So do try before you buy otherwise you could be in for an expensive headache!
• Another reason to try before you buy: Different perfumes evolve differently on different people. What you may have smelt on someone else may not smell the same on you. I have found that some perfumes I really loved first off, but as I wore it and the original top notes wore off - I wasn't too fond of the base notes; which in the end is what you are left with. Walk around and smell all the different options - once you have settled on one you are interested in ask the assistant if you can wear it. Ask what your friends, partner etc thinks - and if you still like it the after a day of wear - go swipe that card!

Garnier BB Cream

BB Creams came about in the 1950s when a German dermatoligist invented an ointment to help the heeling process of patients whom had undergone chemical peels - he later realised it also reduced redness, and later commercialised the ointment calling it a 'blemish balm'. These blemish balms have recently gained immense popularity in the Asian markets - and are now slowly making their way into the western world.

When I first heard about this product - I wasn't really thinking this would become a 'miracle product'... but oh was I wrong.

I don't wear foundation during the day any more. Garnier's BB Cream has taken over my beauty regime. I apply the BB Cream straight onto a clean face - no need to prep or prime the skin... I just pop it straight on. It has a much thicker consistency than other tinted moisturisers I have used - but it spreads really easily. I like to slowly layer it onto my skin with my fingers and build it up in areas I need extra coverage like under my eyes, my nose and my chin.

It is so light to wear and I really feel it works to allow your skin to breath. It leaves a gorgeous dewy finish and still lets a few of my freckles shine through - which I love. It also contains an SPF with is essential when playing under the hot New Zealand sun.

At under $20, and available from supermarkets... you can't go wrong.

Hi, we're beauté camp

The two of us go a long way back, having met as littlies at kindergarten and becoming fast friends.

On Christmas Day 1993 I got given some 'make-up' - shades of bright pinks and blues,and tiny little pearlescent lipsticks all set in a purple plastic palette.

That summer, I remember the two of us sat out on the driveway mesmerised by the colours. I remember referring to blush as 'rouge' - I thought I was very grown up. Lipstick on our noses - eye shadow on our cheeks; but this is my earliest beauty memory. Covered in colours, in fits of giggles - sitting out on the hot concrete in the summer sun.

Almost 20 years on; we decided to create this blog - discussing all the things we love in this world - from flowers, to scrumptious treats, cute animals, favourite eating spots - and of course our shared love of make-up.

Love A & B, beauté camp