My Jim Kersie Experience | Purple & Gold

My Jim Kersie Experience | Purple & Gold

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Deep purple, plum and auburn are colours I opt for when putting together autumnal outfits - don't we all?! Something that has made a statement this year, for me personally, is the use of jewellery equipped with my chosen outfit. Having an evergrowing colletion of beautiful jewellery pieces, both subtle and bold, I have never seen, through my many years of hoarding, a bracelet quite like this one.

Jim Kersie is a Melbourne-originated brand that specialises in phenomenally hand crafted bracelets - each having an element of individuality. Currently, Jim Kersie have 6 unique collections in which you can chose your desired colour/one that is suited to you. With the wide range of products and colours, I'm sure everyone can find something perfect for them..

...and for me...that was this autumnal-screaming piece -

Purple Jasper and 22kt Gold - Phoenix Collection!

I am a enormous purple lover, hence the multiple purple items surrounding my new, beloved trinket. On receiving my product, it was luxuriously encased in a sleek, black gift box and mini leather drawstring bag with the 'JK' intials imprinted in wealthy gold. The packaging extremely impressed me - I feel like packaging can 'make or break' a company's professionalism and respectibility and JIM KERSIE definitely lived up to my standards!

Focusing now on the jewellery piece itself, I was in awe at the array of purples chosen to craft this gorgeous bracelet. It is subtle in size, which is fabulous for everyday wear because it doesn't get in the way or get caught on clothing. I also thought the 'JK' embossed 22kt Golden beads were a lovely touch as well - gold and purple compliment each other wonderfully and add a bold statement to an evening outfit.

10/10 recommend this brand from everything of the warm customer service to the neatly packaged product. This would make a wonderful Christmas gift for your mother, auntie, cousin or friend - especially with the free giftbox included! (There are also some lovely male structured pieces too, so don't forget to check them out!)

Do you change your jewellery during A/W? What colours do you usually steer toward wearing?

Lots of love

Desert Sage: The Reason To Add This Colour To Your Wardrobe

Desert Sage: The Reason To Add This Colour To Your Wardrobe

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This autumn, designers predict an evolution in the panorama of colours – they adopted an 

androgynous approach to colours this season, looking for a style in dressing and fabrics to 

define this time of year. This fall, designers pay homage to different moments in American 

history, from the 20s, hippies and bohemians to the modernists 60s and 70s, while the affection 

shown by the colours and style is innately easy to use by both men and women.

The importance of neutral tones continues to evolve with the Desert Sage, mix of fresh grey and 

relaxing green, which serves as the starting point in the palette for autumn 2015.

Desert Sage suits everyone!

As stated by the designer, timeless and discreet but powerful enough to take ownership alone, 

Desert Sage speaks of the sense of colours inspired by nature, reminiscent of real and 

uncorrupted things. The trendy colours for this autumn have their roots in many facets that can 

be used to represent sophistication effortlessly through the fashion of men and women – It is the 

first time that there is a truly unisex palette of colours.

Swampy shade and endless combinations!

A neutral grey-green hue is very autumnal and works perfectly with other colours. Desert Sage 

is a fashionable but understated colour, a shade that works alone without being juxtaposed 

against other colours. It is one of the colours that dominated the menswear but became very 

popular with ladies, too. It combines very well with almost any colour, such as black, blue and 

red colours (burgundy, marsala, maroon, etc.). It also combines with different shades of green, 

brown and grey. It is serious, discreet and elegant.

Depending on the tone, it can make the person wearing it look thinner or be fairly neutral. In 

combination with warm colours and unusual textures it provides comfort and warmth. Also, 

many predict that this particular colour could replace the black in the fashion field this season.

Every style looks great with this colour!

Desert Sage is trendy and can be used in formal and evening dresses, too. So if you're 

wondering what to wear to a wedding, you can take into account this rich and beautiful colour. 

Women can combine romantic silk dress in this shade with a coat in military style to add a little 

drama. A skirt in this earthy tone would look gorgeous as well, combined with a maroon or black 

dickie. Dashing gents would look even more fashionable with a Desert Sage coat which pairs 

perfectly with custom dress shirts in white or some other neutral colour.

This year, there are many choices for the fall when it comes to fashion, and the trends are 

always on their way to major changes. From real autumn colours, brown and yellow in an 

antique style to modern designs and cheerful colours, this year’s fall fashion is interspersed with 

styles. Still, Desert Sage managed to come above all others and deserve the title of the queen 

of autumn colours.

Author BIO:

Sophia Smith is a freelance writer from Brisbane, Australia with huge interest in beauty, fashion  and 

graphic design. She could be described as beauty addict and life lover. She writes in mostly beauty 

related topics, mainly through blogs and articles. Sophia is regular contributor at High Style Life on topics 

related to beauty, fashion and lifestyle.

Find her on: 

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Autumn Pay-Day Wishlist // Fashion

Autumn Pay-Day Wishlist // Fashion

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Since October has begun, I've been swooning over all of the classic A/W collection releases that multiple online clothes stores have released. These pieces are some that I definitely want to add to my wardrobe this Autumn!

Wool Belted Nude Trench Coat | Missguided

Leather City Bag | Zara

Eleanor Oversize Check Cape | BooHoo

Faux Fur Jacket | H&M

Blanket Check Wrap Detail Skirt | Next

Marled Tunic Sweater | Forever 21

Binky Border Print Dress | In The Style

Aerodrome Leather Lace Up Ankle Boots | ASOS

Rust Corduroy Button Front A-Line Skirt | New Look

 Off Shoulder Grey Knitted Jumper | Missguided

Leather Messenger Bag with Leaf Detail | Zara

Amy Wool Brown Floppy Hat | BooHoo

Elettra Mustard Cable Knit Jumper | Daisy Street

Riot High Rise Extreme Rip Skinny Jeans | Missguided

Adder Ankle Boots | ASOS

Daisy Boyfriend Camel Cardigan  | BooHoo

I've also been loving pinterest recently - here are a few of my favourite Autumnal outfits that I've pinned on my FASHION INSPO board.

Lots of love

Winter Hair Care | Maple Holistics

Winter Hair Care | Maple Holistics

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Today, I've got a very exciting collaboration with Maple Holistics. I cannot wait to share with you guys the products I have to show you this evening. Maple Holistics are a brand that cater for those who want to enhance health, beauty or daily living. Their products are created in a way to therapeutically improve your average pampering session and turn it into a unique journey. 

The items offered by Maple Holistics are multiple skin care(face masks, oils&serums) hair care(shampoos&conditioners) and bath products(bubble bath,scrubs&salts). It is simple to get your hands on one of these A/W must-haves because of their worldwide shipping service - you can also get free shipping on orders over $25. 

Since I'm obnoxiously lazy when it comes to caring for my locks, I thought I would try some hair care products for a change. The Winter Blends set seemed appropriate/ideal considering the time of year so I opted for these blue bottled beauties.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTS

On receiving the Winter Blends shampoo and conditioner, the first thing I had to do what smell them. Honestly, they've got the smell of Winter down to a T; the intense mint undertones and cold winter fragrance made me feel like I was walking through a snow-embedded forest. Wild mint, Spearmint, Peppermint, Bergamot Mint and Eucalyptus Mint are all included in the formula as well as other ingredient such as Botanical Keratin and Jojoba Oil. This mixture of elements work together to stimulate root growth, help the scalp's blood flow, create a glossy effect, remove dryness, aid thickness and restore and replenish your hair's general health.

MY EXPERIENCE

After using these over a short period of two weeks, I've already been noticing minor differences with my hair. Primarily, the change that stood out the most was the amount of time my hair stayed fresh for. Usually, I have to wash my hair every other day to avoid greasy-ness or overly clean hair. However, on applying the Winter Blends products, my hair was feeling fresh and cleansed for three days straight. This made a huge impact on my hair care routine, as now, I'm able to leave my hair for an extra day before re-washing. Oh, and not to mention the compliments I've received from my family and boyfriend about my hair's new minty scent!

Maple Holistic's ever-so kindly sent me this little gem to add that extra mint-i-ness to my order. This Peppermint Natural Lip Balm contains vitamin E and sunflower oil to moisturize the lips; not to mention, it is a great handbag size! I will definitely be popping this in my bag to avoid the dreaded dry winter lips!

Don't forget to check out their vast range of products here.

Lots of love

5 Beauty Products You Need This A/W

5 Beauty Products You Need This A/W

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If you are living in the northern hemisphere, you will know that it is time to hide away those vibrant corals and replace them with those ravising reds and berries. 

Welcome to Autumn everyone! Autumn is my favourite time of year due to so many reasons: the nights get darker (not great for taking photos with the poor lighting - but I love it!), the temperature becomes cooler, the knitted jumpers come out along with all the gorgeous autumnal colours. I'm a huge fan of all the autumn trends both in the fashion and makeup industry; so today, I would like to cover my top 5 things I love and you NEED this A/W on the beauty side of things.

During the cooler months, my skin always thinks it would be funnier to go VERY dry and make my makeup cling to patches on my face - FAB!!! To try and avoid this in 2015, I've prepared myself by keeping my moisturizers, primers and radiant illuminating creams at the ready. Garnier and Simple do some great skin goodies for an affordable price!

Another way I like to stay radiant and glowing is using golden toned highlighters. I feel these work best in the winter months as it brightens paler skin. These two high end must-haves are probably the most talked about highlighter and I completely understand why so many people talk about them. Even better, these two products work incredibly together; layer MAC's soft and gentle over Benefit's Watts Up and you're good to go!

Warm, plum blush shades are what you need this Autumn/Winter. They compliment golden highlight and deepen the cheek colour to make you have a flawless complexion. I'm not usually a fan of loose powder products but this E.L.F Blusher in PLUM really does me wonders at this time of year.

Eyeshadows are my favourite to change up seasonally, especially when Autumn comes around. Taupes, maroons, cranberries, coppers and golden glitters are the colours to go for - they correspond to the traditional autumnal shades and look great both daily and nightly. I absolutely love taupe and cranberry colours in the crease of my eye; they help to contour the lid so much and create the prettiest effect. Also, I adore wearing golden glitters on the eyelid too because of how simple is it to create.

Finally, the moment you've all been waiting for - my favourite berry red lips for this Autumn/Winter. Want a matte finish? Go for Rimmel's Kate Moss lipstick in 107 or the Nars Audacious lipstick in the shade Charlotte! If you're looking for a more satin finish then you definitely want to opt for Mac's Rebel or Makeup Up Revolution's Rebel With Cause - how ironic that they have similar shade names?! Lastly, if you're a glossy type of gal, I totally recommend visiting Revlon and picking up Parisian Passion from their Lacquer range. 

What are your must-have beauty products for A/W?!

Lots of love

Hello Snow!

Hello Snow!

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After a cooler, wetter summer than usual, we are now experiencing a colder winter than usual.  Last Monday most of Tasmania woke to a blanket of snow.  It snowed in the capital city Hobart for the first time since 1986. With snow down to sea level in some areas, this was a newsworthy weather event.  

It's always a magical experience to wake up to a white winter wonderland and it doesn't happen very often here in, at least in the more inhabited parts of our state.  Even school was cancelled, and the kids went out to play in the snow.

Last time we had snow at Swallows Nest Farm was mid-September 2013.  The snow was beautiful but it did damage some of the early spring flowers that were just starting to bloom.  I lost a lot of my waratah crop that year as the early ones had all begun to unfold.  The snow left burn marks on their bracts and petals.  I was keen to check this years plants to make sure they were ok.  The Berzelia crop is coming along and I'm hoping theres no damage. 

Leucadendrons catch the snow in their bracts.  Most Leucadendrons, once established, are quite frost hardy.

The Leucadendron Tall Red is about to flower, but hasn't begun to open yet.  I hope they'll be ok! 

Safari Goldstrike captured the snow all along their stems.  In our last snow event, many of our larger Leucadendron plants lost limbs because the weight of the snow weighed them down and they snapped. This time, it seems to have been a gentler fall.  You can see in this picture just how extensive the snow fall was.  We are quite elevated but the hills across the valley in the picture are just over 100m above sea level.  

Leucadendron Safari Sunset look so "Christmassy" covered in snow!

The open flowers acted like cups for the snow.  These Leucadendrons are quite tough, and seem to have coped well with the unusual weather.

I was surprised at how much snow cover the Leucadendron Jubilee Crown had.  It completely transformed the look of the plant.  

The familiar intense winter colour of the Leucadendrons was softened with the white of the snow.  Such a pretty sight.

Richea Dracophylla are used to snowy conditions, being endemic to the higher, wet slopes of Tasmania's mountains.  You can see them growing on the slopes of Mt Wellington which are no strangers to snowfall, even in the warmer months at times.   

The other plants on the farm that are no strangers to snowy conditions are the Myrtle Beech trees.  They looked so pretty covered in snow.  This tree is one of the dominant species in the temperate rain forests of western Tasmania.  

Some of the Leucadendron Red Gem had already started to flower.  Their bracts were wide open and caught lots of snow.  I think the majority have yet to open, so I hope they'll be ok too. They're such pretty winter flower.

Of all the plants that worried me, these were the ones I was most keen to check.  They are some new Leucadendron Laureolum that had only been planted a week before the snow.  This is  the reason that we choose to use planting guards to give the baby plants a little bit of extra protection in case of extreme weather.  I'm hopeful these little babies will survive and thrive.  

A day or so after the big freeze, I had to fly to the mainland and saw the snow coverage across the state.  Tasmania looked white from above.  Amazing!  I wonder what spring has in store.