How I managed to get this blog post out I'll never know! Life, as per usual, has been incredibly hectic lately. Anyway, here I am with a few of my favourite pins. I thought I'd start a sort of series entailing collections of my favourite images from Pinterest. Fortunately, with my course, I get to go on Pinterest quite often to source ideas and concepts, and get inspiration. But there's always a bit of personal pinning mixed in there too. I don't know how often I'll do one of these although this one was quite fun to put together... Hope you enjoy and I would love to hear who your favourite pinners are.

1. I found this interior really beautiful, which is strange because it's not really a style I would normally go for. I adore the wall and ceiling detailing - so traditional, which I love - and I think herringbone flooring is starting to grow on me. I've never seen a sofa shaped like that so I found it interesting - it's definitely the focal point of the room and that taupe-purple-grey hue is stunning.

2. Summer is fast approaching and I just can't deal with it. There's still a month of Spring to go but the temperature is already quickly rising. This photo was just perfection for me as I find looking at images of snow actually cools me down - guess what I'll be doing on 30+ degree days...

3. Pinecones are just to pretty and perfect. I use them as decor all year round - they're certainly not just a Christmas thing although I can't wait to spray paint and glitter up a few this year. In fact, I can't wait for Christmas in general because it's my favourite day of the year, even more than my birthday. And speaking of Christmas, doesn't the last one feel like it happened just yesterday? I can't believe how fast this year has flown.

4. I'm not usually a big necklace kinda gal but I just really liked the styling of this image and the outfit in it and thought it was a cute piece of fashion inspiration.

5. Something about this quote really resonated with me when I read it. I feel another blog post coming. It's a little mysterious, like it doesn't have one meaning but can be interpreted in different ways by different people.

6. I just love how these shelves are styled. I think decor and styling them is my favourite thing about interior decoration. It's just so amazing how little things like books and plants and other bits and pieces can have such a big effect on a room.

7. These donuts look so good I wanted to grab them through my computer screen. They're one of the worst foods you can eat but goodness they're delish! And now I have a massive craving: thanks, Internet.

8. I came across this image while doing an activity for my lighting class a bit over a week ago. I thought the decorative lighting was so pretty and is a great example of creating movement in an interior because of the way it encourages your eye to travel from the front to the back of the room.

9. Harry Potter, Harry Potter, Harry Potter. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm 22 years old and it is still my favourite book series. I found this graphic, which is derived from the Prisoner of Azkaban - my favourite of all the movies and most read book from the series. It was actually the first book I read from the series too, back when I was like seven years old and didn't realise there was an order to them. I'm so excited that there is an eighth story but I'm not sure how I feel about it being a stage play - I really wish it were another book.

10. My desire to travel grows stronger each day and images like these make me wish so much that the timing and financials were right to do so. I've never travelled beyond Sydney but that doesn't necessarily make me feel sad or like I'm missing out on anything. The urge to leave Australia's borders is there but I've always viewed travel as a luxury and I just have so many bigger priorities at this point in my life, such as starting my career and setting up my future.

11. I wish so badly that Halloween was more of a thing here. Not so much for the spooks or trick-or-treating but more for the decor. These gold pumpkins make my heart so happy but they are an impossibility. I'm so jealous of you if you live in the US with all the pretty Autumn/Fall and Christmas decor and decorations. This is why we can't have nice things.

12. Texture is something I have become so drawn to. And I am a bit like a magpie with glittery and shiny objects, so I was pretty much the iPhone emoji with the love heart eyes when I saw this picture. This may even be a concept for a future project. We'll just have to wait and see.

Highlighters have always been on my 'to avoid' list. Sure, the idea of glowing, luminous skin is appealing but these products - both liquid and powder - are usually riddled with ingredients that are terrible for acne-/blemish-prone skin. Until perhaps now. Since this whole strobing thing has become a trend, I thought I would start looking into highlighters again.

For a beginner, I think powder is the way to go when it comes to highlighting/'strobing'. I know that I don't really understand how liquid highlighters work in terms of whether to apply them before or after you set your face. If you set your face first and then apply liquid over the top, your makeup would separate, wouldn't it? But if you powder after, aren't you going to mattify and lose that luminosity you've just applied? #confused


Retailing at $60, I purchased Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Opal from Adore Beauty for a bit over $46. It is definitely on the pricey side, so not for those on a smaller budget. Because my skin is on the lighter side, I was hoping to get Moonstone but unfortunately I wasn't quick enough as it was sold out by the time I was ready to make a purchase. Because Becca claims that these highlighters adjust to different skin tones, I thought I might just get away with Opal.

On first impression, this pressed highlighter looked a little more pink than what I thought it would. It has been described as a cool gold but I would say it's more a of a dusty rose gold. As a result, I've noticed that if I pile this on, it does look slightly brown on my skin in certain lighting - basically when light is not reflecting off my skin. This is a little disappointing because it means I can't go for that super highlighted look which is 'in' at the moment but does confirm that Moonstone would be a better match for me. It also suggests that the skin-adjusting claim Becca makes isn't entirely true. This is my only negative for this product so let's move on to the good stuff!

When I first applied this to my skin, I fell in love. I finally had that glow that I was lusting after for years but thought I would never be able to achieve. A little went a really long way, so you can easily go for a subtle daytime glow or build up to a more saturated luminosity. It may seem a little glittery to some but I quite like the effect it gives to the skin and it's definitely not chunky but more akin to a baked eye shadow or blush. I would say the texture is creamy but still obviously a powder and it feels comfortable on the face. I have found that it is best applied with a brush, particularly for my dryer skin. Whenever I applied the highlighter to my skin with my finger, I noticed that it clung to my dry patches and emphasised the brown look I mentioned above. I feel that using a brush also allows for a more even application and makes for easier blending if you have accidentally gone overboard with it. Also, with how little you do need to achieve that 'strobed' look, I can see this lasting me a couple of years at least. Lastly, as far as breakouts go, this product for the most part has been kind to my skin, which I'm incredibly happy about.

I had the pleasure of going to Open House Melbourne for the first time with my sister on Saturday. This is an annual two-day event where various sites across Melbourne are open to the public. With literally one hundred sites opening their doors, it is impossible to get to them all even if you decide to go both days. We managed to make it to about four though I had planned 25 - we definitely need to quicken the pace next year.

Open House is very much centred on design and architecture but it's just as much a cultural and historical experience. If you're taking photos, like we did, you feel a bit like a tourist in your own city but there are some buildings well worth capturing in a photograph.

I will likely attend next year, weather permitting. I wish it were held in the summer when the whether is warmer as it was a pretty chilly and windy 13 degree day. But we still had a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy viewing some of my snaps.