Merry Christmas to all!

Just a quick post to wish you all a happy and safe holiday season! I hope you are as lucky as I am to be spending this special time with loved ones. I could think of nothing better than to be surrounded by good food, good music and my wonderful family!

 

I look forward to hearing all about your holiday adventures and seeing more of you all in 2013!

 

Zoe xx



Christmas Nail of the Day! Sephora by OPI Be-Claus I said so

I love Christmas time! I love all the activities and the music and spending time with family, so I decided to do a Christmas themed Nail of the Day!

 

This colour by Sephora by OPI is one that I bought last time I was overseas but haven't opened until recently. It is a mix of various sized red glitter in a clear base. I was actually not all that impressed with this polish, the polish to glitter ratio was not great and to achieve this finish I did 3-4 sheer coats (I always find it is better doing more sheer coats than fewer thick coats). On reflection, it would have been better if I had painted it over a red base but I am staying at my Mum's at the moment and in an attempt to pack light I only bought one nail polish with me, very controlled of me I think...

 

Although the nail polish was a little harder to work with than I had hoped, I am very pleased with the overall result and think it looks quite festive. As I type I keep catching glimpses of sparkle as it catches the light, which is quite nice!

 

Do you have any glitter polishes that you would reccomend? I have heard good things about Deborah Lippmann polishes but have never tried one. That might be next on my list...

 

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season as much as I am!

 

Zoe xx

My week in pictures

I went out for dinner on the weekend for a friends birthday, we went to a Moroccan/Middle Eastern restaurant, the food was great but the highlight for me was this amazing Turkish Delight martini. It was a divine mix of vodka, rose water and other deliciousness! Yum!

On Sunday I had another friends birthday ( I think I have a strange attraction to people born in December, I seem to collect them) The lovely Megan (Timeaftertea) turned 25 and we celebrated by relaxing and barbecue-ing in the sun! A great day with great people!

After my busy weekend I decided a night in was just what I needed. I settled in with The Help and a cup of Sleepytime Vanilla tea, what more could a girl want? This movie did not disappoint, as expected, Emma Stone was great, but the standout performance for me was Jessica Chastain who played Celia Foote, I thought she was amazing and did such a wonderful job of portraying the character.

I seem to work with lots of green thumbed people. I am no gardener, but I appreciate their hard work! One of our avid gardeners brought in these amazing hydrangeas, they were just beautiful! Hydrangeas are one of my favourite flowers and I love being surrounded by fresh flowers, I think they brighten any space, even a staff room!

I have gathered some books for holiday reading, I have asked around and borrowed from friends and my housemate, and these are the books that have made the short list! I think there is a good mix that will keep me entertained. If you have any other reading recommendations I would love to hear them!

How was your week? I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did, it was busy but this time of year always is, and it's nice to celebrate and spend time with the important people in your life. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season.

Zoe xx

What I'm reading: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

 

I know I was a little late getting around to reading this book, but I just couldn't not write about it. If you haven't yet had a chance to read The Help, I definitely recommend it.
 
The Help is set in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 60s, when racial segregation was accepted and encouraged. It follows Skeeter Phelan, a motivated and hopeful journalist, as she attempts to write a book based on the stories of a group of "coloured" women in Jackson and the relationships they have with the women they work for, something dangerous and absolutely unheard of at this time.
 
There are three narrators in the story, the driven writer, Skeeter, Aibileen Clark, a character you can't help but love, and the feisty and opinionated Minny Jackson. Sometimes I find books told from multiple perspectives frustrating, but it really worked in this novel as the lives of the women are all so different. I find it really helps you get a better understanding of each of their situations in a way that a single narrator would not.
 
I love the characters in this book. The relationships and interactions between them is very well written, I find this book both heart breaking and heart warming at different points. Stockett has well and truly shown the vast spectrum of human behaviour, from the cruel and undignified, to the kind and generous. I think that's what I like most about the story.
 
Now I'm settling in for the night with a pot of tea to watch the movie, which I am very excited about, I think Emma Stone is just beautiful and I think she will make a wonderful Skeeter Phelan.
 
The next thing on my to-do list is to find some good books to take with me on my holiday. Do you have any recommendations? I usually like to have two books on the go at once, something light hearted and easy to read, and something a little more challenging so I can choose depending on my mood. I would love to hear about what you've been reading!
 
Zoe xx

Nail of the Day! China Glaze For Audrey

Recently I have found myself being very attracted to anything in the blue/green/aqua/turquoise family, demonstrated also by the iPad case in the background... So upon seeing this Tiffany-inspired polish, you can imagine my excitement! I think it is going to be a colour I will get a lot of wear out of this Summer.

I was also looking forward to trying a China Glaze polish for the first time, and was very impressed. The consistency of the polish was very opaque and easy to work with and most importantly it did not take too long to dry (a pet hate I have with some nail polishes). I could have gotten away with one coat but always do two out of habit, I followed this with my trusty Revlon Colorstay topcoat.

Have you tried any polishes by China Glaze? I am so impressed with this one that I will definitely be on the lookout to try another soon. I would love any recommendations!

Zoe xx

Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. -George Bernard Shaw

Hey everyone, I'm Zoe, I've created Beauty.Life.Balance as a way of recording and sharing some of the things going on in my life. Here is a little info on me:

I am a 24 year old high school English teacher living in Canberra. I love my job and although it challenges me on almost a daily basis, I find it so rewarding and couldn't imagine doing anything else.

As the title of my blog suggests, I am very interested in all things beauty related, I am excited to be able to share some of my extensive purchases (which, now that I am officially a blogger, I plan to call "research"...) with you and can't wait to recommend some of my favourite things!

I also love to travel and am hoping that this will be a place I can share and hear about travel stories. My next trip is planned for late December, I am heading to New Zealand to see in the New Year, watch this space for news and pictures!

I chose this quote by George Bernard Shaw as the title for my first blog as it really resonated with me at this point in my life. I think December is always such an exciting time of year, not only becuase of all of the festivities, but because the New Year is in sight, which for me has always been a time of reflection and a time to make plans, I personally can not wait for 2013 and am looking forward to sharing it with you!

Happy reading,

Zoe xx


Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. -George Bernard Shaw