Flowers and lavender dresses and weddings, oh my!

WEDDINGS are so much fun!
Last week I was lucky enough to attend the wedding of two old friends of mine, Sarah and Leslie.
They sure know how to put on a good party!

Lavender formal dress | Extraordinary Days

This breezy lavender dress was perfect for the hot weather.

As the ceremony was on a really warm day I wanted to wear something that would keep me cool so this little lavender dress fit the bill.
The flowy skirt wasn’t restrictive and the ruffled straps added something a bit different to the dress.
I wore silver sandals for the ceremony as it was on grass but donned a pair of incredible white Windsor Smith heels for the reception. (See them here or a similar style here.) I want so many pairs of shoes from their collection!

Lavender formal dress, silver glitter bag and white platform heels | Extraordinary Days

These chunky white Windsor Smith heels were easy to walk in.

I knew I wanted to wear my hair up to keep it out of my face and off the back of my neck but I jazzed it up with some adorable K is for Kani flower hair clips.
I bought these quite a while ago and have also worn them with more casual outfits. See them here and check out the rest of her amazing headband and flower crown collection here.

Lavender formal dress and floral hair clips | Extraordinary Days

These flower hair clips are just adorable!

For my accessories I stuck with shiny silver druzy earrings, a glittery bag and my staple chunky silver watch that was a birthday gift a few years ago.

Silver watch, earrings and floral hairclips | Extraordinary Days

Accessories from the day.

All in all it was a lovely day!
The reception was at the Aquarium of Western Australia and included time to walk around and check out the aquatic creatures before the party started.

Photobooth fun with the blushing bride!

Photobooth fun with the blushing bride!

"Hot couple"!

“Hot couple”!

Congratulations to the bride and groom!
What would you wear for a summer wedding? Let me know in the comments!

MAC Saint Germain lipstick vs Savvy High Shine lipgloss

I CAN’T get enough of light, bright pink lip colours right now!
Today I wanted to review two very eye-catching lip products in my collection that are similar shades, MAC’s Saint Germain and Savvy High Shine Paparazzi.
Let’s start with Saint Germain.

MAC Saint Germaine lipstick and Savvy High Shine lipgloss | Extraordinary Days

Can you tell that lipgloss has rolled around in my handbag for a long time?

When I first picked out this colour I was intending to match it to the dress I wore to the Melbourne Cup last year.
Needless to say I should have actually brought the dress with me to the shops that day because while it would have gone well with the fluoro pink (can you tell yet that I’m a huge fan of fluoro?) it’s not quite what I was going for.

Melbourne Cup fluoro pink dress | Extraordinary Days

This was an amazing day!

But I’ve since teamed Saint Germain with other outfits like a little black dress and I really love how bright it is!
As far as lip liners go I’ve worn this shade just by itself with MAC’s lip clear lip primer underneath, with a rose-coloured liner and also with a bit of concealer on my lips to make the colour really pop.
My favourite was the concealer just for that boost to the colour but I really enhancing my Cupid’s bow when I don’t wear lip liner so I’ll probably just continue to change it up depending on how I feel.
I love how bright this is when you first put it on but unfortunately, I’ve found the vibrancy just doesn’t last.
That said, it’s still a lovely rosy colour when it does fade and I think there’d be people out there who would prefer that to how full-on if is when it’s first applied but I’m just not one of them.
Of course, there’s always the option to just keep applying it to keep the colour vibrant but that wouldn’t be my first choice.
Before I found Saint Germain my go-to product for that sort of shade was Savvy High Shine gloss in Paparazzi.

MAC Saint Germaine lipstick and Savvy High Shine lipgloss | Extraordinary Days

These two are a bright pair.

When I first saw the two side by side I thought they were very similar and it wasn’t until I put them together on the back of my hand that I saw Paparazzi is much darker.
Still, I think it gives that punchy colour I was aiming for on my lips and the thicker consistency makes the coverage a bit more even.
In terms of how long they last, in my books a lipstick will usually always win and this is no exception.
While I like lip glosses sometimes, at the end of the day if can’t stand up to me having a meal then it’s probably not going to be one of my favourites.
(My ultimate go-to lipstick/liner combination for THE LONGEST wear in my collection can be found here.)
So for my final verdict, both of these products are great if you bear in mind the colour-fade issue.

Would you wear either of these lip products? Let me know in the comments!

Black and white striped dress

HELLO summer! I wore this outfit out to lunch last week so I didn’t melt in the heat.
This striped dress is something I’ve had sitting in my wardrobe for months but I’d never worn it.
The tags were still on and everything!

Black and white striped dress | Extraordinary Days

The weather was great that day!

As part of my plan to get in control of my finances this year (more about this in my 2015 goals post) I’m trying not to buy any clothes and shoes, which means digging through my existing wardrobes instead.
(Yes, you read that correctly, wardrobes plural. I have a lot of clothes, okay?)
I was fun to pick this out and remember why I bought it – it’s adorable! It’s from a store called SES but unfortunately they don’t have an online shopping section! (What a shame.)
I was worried about looking about like a prison inmate or someone in pajamas but after wearing it, I think it’s a winner.

Black and white striped dress | Extraordinary Days

A high bun is definitely my go-to hairstyle for a lazy day.

I wore a black Cotton On long singlet dress (find it here) and threw in my usual fluoro pink Aldo bag and fluoro pink sandals.
The small belt attached to this dress helps give me a waist despite the stripes but, as it’s brown, I will probably change this for a black belt in the future.
A high bun to keep my hair out of my face and off the back of my neck is also one of my go-to hairstyles.

Black and white striped dress | Extraordinary Days

Fluoro pink every day!

Would you wear vertical stripes? Let me know in the comments!

Samantha Wills white howlite necklace

LAST week I celebrated my two-year anniversary with my lovely boyfriend and I was lucky enough to be spoiled with a Samantha Wills necklace!
I’d been eying off this Australian designer’s collection for a while now and there are so many things I want from her collection!

Ready for Mexican food!

Ready for Mexican food!

I chose the White Howlite necklace from the minerals collection – a pendant with a fine rose gold chain and a dainty name plate with the stone’s meaning: calming and stress relief.
I don’t really believe in minerals having real-world applications but it’s still really beautiful.
(And hey, worst case scenario, a little calm is something I could definitely use in my daily life.)

Samantha Wills White Howlite necklace

It’s just so dainty!

The rose gold wouldn’t usually have been my first choice as I mostly wear silver but the only necklace in the collection with a silver chain had a black onyx stone that I felt just didn’t suit me.
But I really like how it looks against a whole range of colours, especially black.
Other stones available included amethyst, rose quartz, lapis and a turquoise stone. (See the collection here.)

Samantha Wills White Howlite necklace

I am drooling.

The chain has two extra rings on it to allow you to wear it shorter if you like – I’ve been wearing it at its longest length.
It came in a beautiful wooden box with flowers stencilled into the top – something I’ll definitely keep on display.
For the rest of the outfit, the Portmans shorts were a gift from my lovely friend Candice. (Similar here and for the heels, see a similar pair here.)

black and white Portmans shorts

I love these shorts so much!

They’re quite fitted at the waist and although I’m always paranoid about spilling something whenever I wear white, the tropical print is fun and I think they’ll feature heavily in the rest of my summer wardrobe.
We took these photos before going out for Mexican at my favourite restaurant – he’s always so patient when taking outfit photos!
I really couldn’t ask for a better boyfriend and we’ve got so many adventures planned for the future.
Here’s to many more years!

Extraordinary Days

Nothing says ‘couple’ like matching floral in a tropical location.

What’s your favourite piece of jewellery? Let me know in the comments!

Full-time fashion blogger shirt

OKAY, I’m wearing this top with only like 80 per cent irony.
When I saw it in an Ally store a while ago, I just couldn’t go past it! I first showed you this shirt in my post about my new 2015 diary.

full time fashion blogger top

Last-minute adjustments.

I wore this for a fun day out of hitting op-shops and lunching with my lovely friend Candice. It was really hot so I tucked it into a little black Cotton On skater skirt (similar here) and threw on my glittery jelly sandals.
This shirt has got a fairly loose fit but I like the shape the rolled sleeves give the shirt and, as it was a bit too thin to wear on its own, I wore a white spaghetti strap singlet underneath.

full time fashion blogger top

Hello, summer!

While we were waiting to pick up Indian food for lunch we snapped some photos in a really cool graffitied alley behind a bar.You can pick you your very own shirt like this one here.

full time fashion blogger top

I’m always searching for something in my bottomless pit of a handbag.

Okay everyone, let’s have a show of hands, would you wear this shirt?
Also, if YOU’RE a fashion blogger, make sure to post the link to your little bit of the internet below so I can see!

Review: MAC’s Rebel lipstick

TALK about a bold colour!
I’d been eyeing off New Zealand songstress Lorde’s signature plum lip colour for a while now so I thought I’d give this ago.
While Lorde and MAC collaborated on a similar plum lip colour last year, I’d read that her makeup artist actually used a combination of the Heroine and Cyber lipsticks.

Lorde Rolling Stone magazine cover

Photo by Rolling Stone. Source: http://tinyurl.com/qac68th

To recreate this look I used the colour Rebel paired it with MAC’s Prep and Prime lip primer and a MAC lip pencil in Nightmoth.
Rebel is part of the brand’s satin range and goes on smoothly with a bit of shine.
Nightmoth looks like a really deep, dark purple on the packet and at the tip of the pencil but when applied is almost a brown.
It’s not a colour you can forget you’ve put on, that’s for sure.

Mac Rebel lipstick and Nightmoth lip miner

Mac Rebel lipstick and Nightmoth lip liner.

While I initially balked at how dark Nightmoth was on its own, I really liked the end result when paired with Rebel because it gave it a more plum-coloured shine.
The first time I tried this look it didn’t pass the food test 100 per cent (I ate a jam and cream donut, yum!) and needed touching up, particularly on the middle of my bottom lip.
However, that might have been because I was a bit over-zealous when putting it on and put on too much.
More tries will tell.
I first wore this during the day and it felt a bit heavy for a sunny morning so I might try wearing it again at night and see how it feels then.
I really like it with this collared top – it’s got a bit of a Wednesday Adams feel to it.

MAC Rebel lip 1

Have you tried a dark lip? What do you think of the trend?

Three ways to make your outfit sparkle on NYE

NEW Year’s Eve is almost upon us!
Aside from freaking out about where the year has gone, I’m starting to plan my outfit for the big night.
I’m a huge fan of sequins, glitter any anything else that shines but it can be daunting to put these into an outfit without looking like a walking disco ball, especially for more casual events.
Here are three easy ways to throw in a bit of shine into your look, to get 2015 off to a great start!

blue maxi dress ootd NYE

We’re set for a warm NYE! I’ll be by the pool.

A sequinned belt:
I paired this gold belt with a floaty maxi dress and sandals for a low-key bit of sparkle.
NYE is usually hot even after the sun goes down in Australia so this would be great for a barbecue or a few relaxed drinks with friends.
It’s not too over-the-top but is still fun.
I threw in a plain white clutch so the belt would be the feature and my gold Juicy Couture charm bracelet – a gift from my lovely sister on a recent trip to Hong Kong. (There’s a close-up photo of these jewellery pieces at the bottom of this post.)

blue maxi dress ootd

This outfit is perfect for a more casual shindig.

blue maxi dress ootd NYE

Gold accessories bring the whole thing together.

The showstopper:
This gold sequinned top is definitely in my top ten favourite items in my wardrobe.
You’re not going to be missed in this thing!
This shirt has a black faux-leather (pleather) back and sleeves so it’s not full-on sequins the whole way around.
I paired it with a plain black skirt and minimal accessories – this top does all the talking.

gold sequin top ootd NYE

The faux-leather backing makes this shirt a bit warm, though.

Shiny accessories:
If you’re searching for something minimal to add to your outfit, simple, shiny accessories are always a good option.
This cat ear headband is a bit silly and fun but definitely cute!
Make-up wise I’m going to be keeping things pretty simple – just pink lips and liquid eyeliner.
For this look I used MAC’s Magenta lip liner and Max Factor’s Flipstick Colour Effect in Boreal Mauve 15.

cat ears headband ootd NYE

I love this headband!

Let’s take another look at the accessories I used for these outfits.
The big silver necklace from my dolphin skirt OOTD post would also be a winner, especially if paired with a little black dress.
You can pick up a Juicy Couture charm bracelet just like mine here.

So many shiny things in one image.

So many shiny things in one image.

This bracelet just gets me.

This bracelet just gets me.


What are you wearing on New Year’s Eve? Let me know in the comments!

My favourite dolphin skirt

I LOVE any item of clothing that has animals on it, so this skirt is one of my favourites.
I bought it from a rack of clothes outside a tiny store in Singapore’s Chinatown.

I took this look to a friend’s birthday party this weekend.

I paired the bright skirt with a pop of pink in my handbag and my biggest, shiniest necklace.
The necklace was another travel purchase – I picked it up in Florence in a random boutique.
It was just so over-the-top that I knew I had to buy it!
I’m house-sitting at the moment so today I had a canine helper for my photos!
I also put on Lime Crime’s Centrifuschia lipstick — I can’t get enough of this fun colour. Read my review of it here.

Dolphin skirt ootd

I think he approves of my dolphins.

I'm a cat person but I just can't resist that face!

I’m a cat person but I just can’t resist that face!

Do you have a favourite piece of animal-print clothing? I’d love to hear about it!

Fluoro skirts are hard to miss

I LOVE this bright pink skirt!
While there’s every chance of it searing your retinas, when I spotted it in a Dotti store last year (it was hard to miss) I couldn’t resist snapping it up.

Dotti fluoro pink skirt

I love how bright it this outfit is!

I’m a big fan of fluro pink in everyday outfits – my current handbag is a similar shade to this skirt.
To balance out the crazy colour I paired this with a simple black tee, bag and a dark necklace.
While a lot of style guides may say my sky blue flats are a bit much, they just felt really fun when I put them on with the pink.
I also threw on a faux leather jacket with a studded collar that I picked up for only five dollars at an op shop!
I like the mix of circles on my necklace and squares on the lapel.
To finish it off I chose the brightest pink lipstick I own!

This faux leather jacket was a wardrobe staple for me this winter.

This faux leather jacket has been a wardrobe staple for me.

Top: Zara.
Skirt: Dotti.
Jacket: op shop. Originally Ally.
Shoes: Cotton On.
Necklace: op shop.
Lips: Maybelline Colour Sensational – fuchsia fever.

What’s your favourite bright colour piece in your wardrobe?

Silver and sequins and (faux) leather, oh my!

ON THURSDAY I snagged an amazing haul of clothes in an unusual place.
A workmate sporting an incredible metallic gold jumper told me about a giant sale at Supre.
Yes, Supre. (They’re still around!)

Supre dress top metallic sequins
The place is known for horrific booty-exposing short-shorts and fluoro crop tops — but it turns out they still have some nice things!

tartan metallic silver leopard print sequins fluoro pink
The tartan top, silver jumper and silver skirt were only $5! FIVE DOLLARS. (I may or may not have gotten so excited about buying all these that I ended up having an asthma attack.)

silver skirt 1
I can’t wait to wear all of these pieces out – I gave the faux leather pencil skirt a run at work yesterday. (Full outfit post to come for that.)

hand
I can never resist a bargain!
What’s the best thing you’ve ever picked up on sale? Let me know in the comments!