A|X Armani Exchange Melbourne Event Snaps

Celina and I were invited to the grand opening of the Chadstone Armani Exchange flagship store last weekend. To be perfectly honest I didn’t really know what to expect because #1 the only thing I knew about Armani was that I couldn’t afford to shop there are #2 I didn’t think I was really their target audience. I was actually quite pleasantly surprised on both accounts though so it was a good reminder that you can find awesome things in the places you would least expect!

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The store was set up with a DJ, giveaways, live models in the window (more hilariousness on that later) and staff taking polaroid photos for shoppers as keep sakes.

Here’s a little video I made of the event, more photos etc below!

One of the two DJs called “The Backhanderz” setting up.Armani-Exchange-Chadstone_5103We maaaaay have monopolised the polaroid people just a little bit…Armani-Exchange-Chadstone_4988Just a little bit… 😉Armani-Exchange-Chadstone_5198As I mentioned I was surprised how many of the clothes I actually really liked. They had an entire nautical themed range which was really pretty and had I been out shopping regularly I probably would have missed it from my own assumptions.

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The prices were also very much not the high end luxury prices I was expecting, they were actually around that of department stores like Myer/David Jones, eg. men’s t-shirts were $50, dresses between $140-240ish so I imagine it would be fairly affordable for those on an average income.

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We were each given gift vouchers to spend in store and I had a hard time deciding what to take home because the whole store was 20% off too XD

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Celina and I both ended up liking the same dress and for a change she chose the white and I chose the black!

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With super cute Gemma from Torstar, she had a really nice nautical-ish jacket with gold buttons! This was the best photo out of the few we took so of course it’s the only one where my hair was backlit into blending into the sign >_<

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Anthony Callea was there to promote his new single, he was runner up in Australian Idol in 2004 so everyone in the store was extra excited. I didn’t watch Australian Idol but he was very friendly and accommodating to take photos with us including some more polaroids!

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Ok yes I have a complete obsession with polaroids! I think photo booths and polaroids are the best even idea ever!

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In the end, I chose this beautiful red quilted purse with my voucher, with the 20% off it came in around $70 so I got James a tshirt with my left over. I *love* this purse so much! It holds everything but is still tiny, it’s like a freaking tardis! I’ve been using it as a clutch all week, I’ve never used a clutch but that’s how much I like it!

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James’ wardrobe is a bit sad at the moment so he bought another 2 shirts with his voucher. The ones he picked were very much his style: plain! They are made of that thin cotton that drapes very sexily so I’m very happy with his purchase 😀 😀 😀

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Celina bought a jacket which suited her perfectly and I’m sure she’ll post some photos soon which I’ll come back and link to!

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It was a fun event to attend, the staff were all hilarious and actually looked like they were having fun which was a change from a lot of the retail shops I’ve been to recently. You could tell that they were genuine and actually enjoying themselves rather than just being helpful because it was their job so next time we head to Chadstone I won’t feel intimidated going in!

From what I saw, Armani Exchange is a bridge brand, luxury at prices which aren’t ridiculous and it was a really good introduction to the kind of brand I’d never thought would be my style but apparently has pieces that fit into my wardrobe perfectly. Who knew!

So thank you very much A|X, thank you to Torstar for inviting us and that you for the staff who made the day really fun to be at!

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Now I bet you’re wondering about those live models I mentioned huh? They were hilarious!! They were set up on a beach scene in the window and spent the day lounging around being generally good looking. Celina and I went to take a photo outside with them and the boys decided to be funny!

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Doing my best vogue, clearly he was very impressed XD

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Sorry dude, I think I like what I’ve got at home better 😉

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I’m not sure my two arm candy accessories quite match my outfit hahaha!

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So funny, the model girls were cracking up! I love when people share my silly sense of humor 😀

Hope you all enjoyed the photos as much as I had fun being in them!

 

Bare Minerals Bare Escentuals Event

An event video from getting my foundation matched and trying out Bare Minerals at Kit Cosmetics.

See the full post here for more information: TBA

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Music: Garageband .
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A blog and Youtube channel about a girl and her quest to make everything sparkle. New craft, hair and beauty tutorials every week!

Violet LeBeaux spends most of her time trying to think of ways to make life prettier, posting said ways on her blog and drinking very strong tea. She writes about big hair cute things, girly fashion, beauty finds, sometimes Hime Gyaru fashion (姫ギャル) and crafty tutorials.

She lives with her adorable boyfriend Jimmy, fluffy puppy Miss Lottie and Bergamot Bunny in Melbourne, Australia.

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Music: Garageband unless otherwise credited
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Bare Minerals Bare Escentuals Event.
During the consultation with the make up artist I was matched to the lightest foundation colour.
There are 12 shades and two finishes.
We spoke in depth about the brand and the philosophy behind everything.
As always, step 1 is primer.
Then the powder application is all about technique.
You pour some powder into the lid and swirl the brush in until there is none left. Tap off any extra.
Buff it onto the face in a circular motion.
This apparently activates the minerals and provides even coverage.
They did half of my face so I could see the difference and try applying myself.
She applied for a medium coverage so it didn’t cover my freckles.
Now to try myself.
Swirl, tap and buff.
The coverage was good but in the store lights it looked a bit orange toned for my pink skin.
After experimenting at home, I now use BB Cream as a base then apply Bare Minerals over the top.
This gives my my designed finished and matches my tine perfectly.
Next we used the Multi-Task Face Bisque as concealer. I was concerned this would sink into my fine lines but it was fine.
Overall the system felt a little dry for my skin to be used without a base.
Next was time for the Warmth All Over Face Colour.
Same technique: swirl and tap.
I wasn’t sure the colour we used suited me but I’m biased because I don’t use bronzer and usually prefer pale looks.
This was applied in a “backwards 3” shape to each side of the face to provide definition.
And last was blush, this was again a different shade to what I would usually pick but it looked fantastic on the make up artist.
The finished look!
They had beginners kits with all the brushes included too.
I had a lot of fun trying out the Bare Minerals range and I was surprised how much I liked it as I’m not usually a fan of powder foundation.
So overall impressions of my Bare Escentuals experience.
I liked the quality of the foundation, by itself it was a little drying on my already dry skin but I am still sing it today with BB Cream as a base.
More detailed information and thoughts in the post linked in the description.
Overall it was a fun experience.
Thanks for watching.

Best Jam Drop Cookie Recipe – Food Friday

I’m pretty sure it’s still Friday somewhere in the world right? Planning fail again XD One of these days I’ll get myself properly organised!

So today’s Food Friday is  James’ Jam Drop recipe which I will steal and claim as my own >:D Mine didn’t actually turn out half as nice as his but oh well!

You need:

  • 130g butter, softened
  • 112g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons cornflour
  • 3 tablespoons self-raising flour
  • 150g (1 cup) plain flour
  • Jam for filling and then any decorations you want
Get all of your ingredients together!
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Stick the butter in a mixing bowl.
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Add the suger and vanilla essence.
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Have an argument with your boyfriend over whether a couple of grams extra will *really* ruin the entire batch of cookies… Seriously James is ridiculously particular with his measuring.
Try not to stab him with your butter knife when he insists on spending 20min finding new batteries for his electric scale to get the measurements perfect.

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Whip it with an electric beater until it starts getting fluffy and the butter gets a little lighter.

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Add in the egg…

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And the food colouring…

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Whip it again and until it’s fairly fluffy.

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The recipe here differs depending on who you are…

If you are James then: take forever finding a clean bowl and sift all the flours together making sure to mix thoroughly. Add it to the cookie mixture and mix until it forms a dough.

If you are Violet: get bored looking for a clean bowl and start dumping the flours into the current bowl, sifting is for suckers and people who don’t want to get some crafting done tonight too! Finally dig out a sifter half way through because of the look James is giving you. Sift it all into the bowl and mix until it forms a dough.

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Stick the bowl into the fridge for 20 min to cool, when you get it out again it should be easy to roll into small balls and put on a baking papered tray. I used the 20min to go to the 7/11 and procure chocolate, but you should use yours for preheating your oven t0 180 degrees Celsius 😀

It probably wasn’t actually 20min because my dough was still fairly soft. I was impatient to finish and sit down after having walked most of the day so I ignored the instructions 😀

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Aaaanyway poke your thumb into the middle of them so it forms a little well for the jam.

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Then spoon in some jam! This is my favorite one, it’s strawberry and rose petal.

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I decorated mine with some of those little sugar balls that I can never remember the name of.

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Finally, stick them in the oven for 15minutes or until they look cooked. Interestingly enough it wasn’t the lack of precise measuring that killed my cookies… it was my being distracted by watching Xmen First Class and forgetting they were in the oven hahaha!

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So mine were a little crispier than usual but still very delicious!! Be careful if you put in too much jam they will boil over. Also be VERY careful when you take them out because the jam will be liquidy and very hot so don’t burn yourself!

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Still very yummy but I’ve decided to leave these to James and perhaps retitle this section from Food Friday to “Violet Sucks At Baking… Mostly Out Of Laziness And Lack Of Allocating Enough Time”. Catchy yes? I can totally make a Violet Sucks At Baking icon 😉

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If you’re curious, they did actually taste the same as James’ version just a little browner 😉

 

 

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