Friday, March 28, 2014

Spring Whites

I’m so excited for springtime in the UK. I’ve been in Australia for the past 3 years and have felt quite unaware of the fashion trends going on back home. In Australia, I’ve really embraced the white trends, and have been splurging on Windsor Smith white sandals, white lacy 2 pieces and white dresses. There is something eternally flattering about white; it makes you look tanned and it seems so classic. These are my top white picks for springtime. I know some of them are really expensive examples, but these would be easy to track down a cheaper version in the same style. I hope you enjoy!

Flirty Skirts
2 370 AUD FARFETCH.COM
64 AUD HOUSEOFFRASER
1 165 AUD JADES24.COM

Step out in style
105 AUD JOHNLEWIS.COM
32 AUD 2BSTORES.COM

Dress to impress

2 425 AUD ALEXANDERMC
150 AUD USA.FRENCHCON
125 AUD LAGARCONNE.COM

Bag Lady

2 015 AUD MODAOPERAND
2 125 AUD FARFETCH.COM
1 185 AUD NET-A-PORTER

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Save/Spend/Splurge - White Summer Sandals


These have been so in fashion over the summer. I really prefer the white colour, it is so fresh and summery and makes you look way more tanned. The sandals with a little platform give you a bit of height, and give you that look of wearing heels, because it tightens your bum and legs. I absolutely adore Windsor Smith over any other shoe shop at the moment. If you love your white sandals and platforms, you know where to find them!



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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Skin Doctors T Zone Oil Control Range | In Depth Review



If you suffer from oily skin, have a look at my ‘Tips and Advice On Getting Rid Of Oily Skin’ post here.

The most annoying thing that my body does against my will is produce mass oil from my face. Thanks, evolution, you’re really helping me out here. It causes spots, make-up melting, clogged pores, greasier hair. I previously used the NATIO Acne range in order to prevent my oily skin (read my review here) and while I liked it, I felt I needed something a bit more heavy-duty. Enter Skin Doctors T Zone range. I first heard about it on Katies Beauty Blog, my go-to blog for skincare suggestions, as the incredible author Katie Snooks also suffers with oily skin. She had great things to say about the range, so I purchased the wash and overnight treatment from eBay for about $15-$30 (sorry I don’t remember!).

Oil Control Cleanser: A wonderful smelling, wonderful spreading and wonderfully effective wash, in my opinion. I use it with my Clarisonic to get a really good lather, and I love the way I can feel the oil on my skin reducing as I massage it into my face. It is mattifying (which is a big step for me because I’ve never had truly ‘matte’ skin before) and I feel as though it thoroughly cleanses my skin of impurities, especially when I use it with my deeply exfoliating Clarisonic. I had to use it for a couple of weeks every day before I saw proper results, but now the oil is reduced, it stays reduced until I stop using the cleanser. If I accidentally miss a day, I notice a build up of oil on my skin even in the 24 hours I didn’t clean it! The bottle is a really decent size, it’s pretty huge actually, and seems it will last me a fair old while. I don’t think I’d suggest this for really sensitive skin, because it’s packed with salicylic, glycolic and lactic acids to help minimise oils in the skin.

No More Pores Night Treatment: This product is a really thick, heavy cream which smells quite yoghurty! But not in a bad way. I like the smell and really adore the texture (it is comparable to body butter) and feels really heavy on the skin. I can’t say I’ve noticed such a drastic improvement in my clogged pores solely from using the cream, but I’d say it definitely helps as an important part of my skincare regime. It nourishes my skin; I never have tightness in my face even though I’m trying to strip away the oils. I really love this cream, especially the packaging!

I didn’t buy the daily moisturiser, just because a) I didn’t have the money and b) moisturisers almost always make my skin feel claggy and sweaty. The night treatment gives the perfect amount of conditioning for my skin, so I’m pleased with it. Overall, the range has definitely acted on my oily face, and I certainly notice a difference when I miss a day out. They smell amazing and I find that they really work, but I would advise you sensitive ones to be careful with this one; it seems a whole lot harsher than some others. I hope you found this review informative and helpful!

Do you suffer from oily skin? What’s your holy grail oil banishing product?






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Save/Spend/Splurge - Crop Pastel Jumper

Who doesn’t love a crop jumper? They look amazing over high waisted skirts, shorts and jeans, and are an absolute winter staple. They’re so cute and cosy looking. Topshop has the best range of colours, in my opinion, plus, you know you’re getting brilliant quality for your money. Missguided and Boohoo also have a great range, it’s huge! Some are eyelash knit, some are fisherman style, some are ¾ length sleeves. There’s a massive range out there, and you don’t have to spend as much as you might think. Most are around 20-40 pounds, which is really affordable for your new winter jumper.


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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Polyvore - Perfect Pretty Night Out

Perfect Pretty Night Out



13 AUD - amazon.com



27 AUD - newlook.com



60 AUD - boohoo.com


2 145 AUD - farfetch.com



18 AUD - colette.fr

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Save/Spend/Splurge | Pink Boyfriend Coat


Coat shopping is possibly one of the top highlights of my year. I’ve always got what I want in mind. Last year I was desperate for a biker jacket, the year before I needed a parka! This year I opted for a more glamorous, girly version of the traditional wool winter coat. I’ve seen loads of gorgeous looking women in these pastel coloured coats, and I got seriously envious.

This is a new series/segment I’m creating! My save/spend/splurge posts will contain fashion pieces from cheaper stores, a mid range store and a more high end store. I hope it helps some of you out!

Do you own any of these coats, or a similar one?



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Tips & Advice To Get Rid Of Oily Skin!

I have absolutely always had oily skin, and it has annoyed me to death. It really used to ruin things for me, like makeup. I’d do a full face and I’d look fresh to death (lol) and within hours, the foundation had melted and slid off my chin, forehead and around the sides of my nose. I also used to have a full fringe, which made life with oily skin WAY harder; my forehead made my hair greasy, and my fringe trapped the sweat on my forehead and good heavens didn’t I know about it! Oily skin doesn’t always lead to spots and clogged pores, but in my case it certainly did. I get spots mostly on my forehead, but get blackheads due to blocked pores on my chin. In order to combat these annoying problems, I decided to make a few changes:

Keep your hair clean and away from your face
I know it’s annoying when you love having a fringe or bangs, but if you’ve got oily skin it’s something to be conscious of. My fringe trapped the greasy dirt close to my face, and kept it warm allowing bacteria to grow. It is so important that if you do choose to have hair close to your face, you make an effort to keep it clean, otherwise, it can make your problem worse. The oil in your skin can also make your bangs greasy! I let my fringe grow out, and pinned it back most days. I carried dry shampoo to spritz in the roots when I thought it was starting to look a bit funky. I can’t tell you the difference it’s made with my forehead acne! I still get the odd one; growing my hair and keeping it out of my face hasn’t cured it completely, but it has sure made a great difference.



Don’t touch your face!
Heaven knows I’ve been a chronic nail biter for as long as I can remember, but I have pretty much kicked the habit now! This has caused (as well as rubbish looking nails) oilier skin! It has happened especially on my chin area, because when I put my fingers up to my mouth, the bacteria and sweat on my hands (ew) would transfer onto my chin. This doesn’t just happen for nail biters though; think about it, every time you touch your face you’re leaving oil and sweat behind from everything you’ve touched, like your hair, lip balm, hand moisturisers. The solution? Carry hand sanitiser, or, if you don’t want to look like a proper hygiene freak, just minimise touching your face!

Change your pillowcases
Number 1 - this is a wonderful excuse to just tidy up your whole room; “hey, I’m changing my sheets, why don’t I also empty my bin, take out my laundry and spritz my space with air freshener”.
Number 2 – I genuinely feel cleaner and fresher when I sleep on new pillowcases! I especially like it because after you’ve done your night time face wash, you don’t want to then dive back into a pile of smelly pillows. Plus they smell good. You only need to change them every week or so; I like to sleep on a pillow, flip it over the next night, then use my next pillow, then flip it, then the next one…and so on and so on!



You get out what you put in!
How I hate to admit it! I see a difference in the oiliness of my skin depending on my diet. Some of your may know that I like to juice sometimes, and my skin’s texture really improves when I’m on my veggies and fruits. Then when I relapse into my KFC and McDonald’s scoffing ways, I feel generally greasier on the inside and out. I know this may seem like a ploy to get you to eat your greens, but honestly, personally I notice a big difference.

Invest in great skincare & create a routine
I’ve tried many skincare products, and unfortunately for everyone, the best ones are the higher end products. I love the NATIO skincare range for oily/acne prone skin (read my review here) and I currently use the Skin Doctors T Zone range, which specifically targets oily skin. I also use a Clarisonic (read my review here) which has been working wonders for me for the past 3 months! Now, it’s all very well to spend your hard earned cash on skincare, but you need to maintain a decent regime in order for it to begin working properly. I use a cleanser in the morning on my hands, then moisturise. Then at night, I’ll do a nice deep exfoliation using a cleanser on my Calrisonic, and use a night cream. I will do an oil absorbing mask 2-3 times per week. It was only after I kept at my efforts for a few weeks that I began to see differences, so I encourage you not to give up!


I really hope my fellow oily people found this post helpful! I’d love to hear your feedback if you use any of my tips and tricks, and please let me know some of yours in the comments below! 


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Hopping On The Twitter Bandwagon


Well it looks as though I have done the very thing I promised myself I’d never do! I have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon! I always said I never would, because I thought it would be a useless affair, but I’ve kind of realised it’s actually a great way to stay in touch with all of you and post random pictures etc etc. I have absolutely no idea how it works, but hopefully I’ll catch on quickly enough! Prepare to be tracked down and followed guys! It'll be perfect for updating you throughout my move back to the UK, which will be particularly stressful and internet will be hard to come by for a bit. Love you all xxxx

#Tweetme #yolo #swag (Oh dear)

My account is @JazMcRae
Follow me if you enjoy my blog!
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BabeScrub Range Review | YouTube


Body exfoliation; I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love that silky soft feeling after a good old fashioned scrub. For those of you out there like me, who spend far too much time and money on the art (yes, art) of body scrubbing, then I hope you find this review helpful. These are my total favourite ever body scrubs, and they continue to work wonders on my skin. I speak of course about the Babescrubs! This is the video part to my blog review; I cover lots of the same stuff in this video to my blog post (read that here), but I like chatting to a camera and thought I could reach more people through YouTube!

Do you use Babescrub? What are your thoughts? If you have done a Babescrub review, do let me know and I’ll pop on over to your blog and have a snoop.


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UK Fashion Haul | NewLook Clothing!


Hi everyone! I found some time to film a video. Yaaay! This video is on the NewLook order I made recently (post here) and I’m really loving everything I got! NewLook is failsafe for me; everything on their site is so wearable and well made and really worth the money I think! I hope you enjoy this haul video! I wear the clothes too so you can see how they look.

Do you ever shop at NewLook? Where’s your favourite place to buy casual clothes?


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Monday, March 24, 2014

LookFantastic Order - Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque, Lord & Berry 20100 Lipstick Pencil in Fucsia & Vintage Pink, Benefit Gimme Brow Gel Light/Medium, Stila In The Moment Eye Shadow Palette

L to R: Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque, Lord & Berry 20100 Lipstick Pencil in Fucsia & Vintage Pink, Benefit Gimme Brow Gel Light/Medium, Stila In The Moment Eye Shadow Palette


I just purchased an order with LookFantastic, which might just end up being my next favourite online store to purchase my beauty goods from. They’re a UK based site with free worldwide shipping, and they have a new offer or discount code pretty much every day. I got this posted to my new address in England, which is my dad’s house! It’s really exciting to be starting to send my post there and today I’m actually having my flight booked! It’s allll hugely exciting but pretty stressful, so I’m needing to make some online purchases to calm my nerves. 

Can't wait to get my hands on these goodies and review them; I am especially excited about Lord & Berry, something I haven't ever heard of in Australia, and they've had some wonderful reviews that I've read for far.

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