Gotta love Go!

For those who haven’t already noticed yet, but there is the new channel 99 on your digital tellies and it is fabulous! Launched a couple of weeks ago, it is effectively the Australian version of the CW network, where the Nine Network signed a $500 million dollar deal with Warner Bros. (who owns CW) for five years for access to a majority of their shows.



Targeted at the younger audience, I love that they are finally airing shows at prime time like Gossip Girl, TMZ, ET and reality shows like True Beauty and The Bachelor/Bachelorette. Free to air TV, has filled the TV void that otherwise could only be filled by Foxtel!

They ‘soft launched’ the channel with many of the shows which are a few seasons old, like the Bachelor and Bachelorette (airs on Thursday nights) that went to air in the US in 2007. Most people that love the shows would probably follow them over the net instead (as there is no other avail.), but that is set to change especially for brand new shows.

With the full launch set for 9/9/09, here to looking forward to some great shows, in line with the US when they come back from their summer hiatus, other shows on the channel will include:

- Weeds
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- The Hills
- Moonlight
- Privileged
- Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
- The Vampire Diaries

I’m personally looking forward to The Vampire Diaries (and not it’s not because of Twilight), it’s one of CW’s most anticipated new TV shows that bumped many other pilots including a Gossip Girl spin off and is likely to hook you to the screen each week.

GTG, I’ll be on my own (study) hiatus and will be back after the 22 September with some exciting reviews installed.
Lots of love, Little J.

Dreamy Donuts

Calling all fans of Krispy Creme! For those who love the glazed donut, say good bye to the days of hoards of donuts on board back from the Eastern states, enough to rival Krispy Crème’s refusal to set up franchises in WA.

Last Saturday KK and I tested out, a six pack for brekky with a couple of cappuccinos at Dreamy Donuts in Carousel, we grabbed a cheese cake donut (top left), cookies & cream (top middle), dark chocolate (top right), cinnamon (bottom middle) and a couple of glazed donuts.

I’ve eaten a few freshly baked Krispy Creme glazed donuts, and I can definitely see the similarities that bring Dreamy close to the original. The icing is spread to a thin thickness that gives the right balance when you bite into the soft moist dough.

The cheese cake donut was quite interesting, with the thin icing on top (as the glazed), it wasn’t just a ‘cheese cake’ flavoured donut, but with actual cheese cake filling on the inside!

After sharing four donuts, I felt sick as the kid who raided the candy store and stuffed himself silly. Maybe it was the reason why I didn’t enjoy the cinnamon donut as much. The sugar was not fine enough and the coffee didn’t wash down well as it was burnt with granules at the bottom.

In terms of cinnamon donuts, the best I have ever tasted was Donut King at Garden City when they make fresh while you wait, the donut is crispy and the spongy dough just bounces back after biting into it. Only problem is, they’ve closed down the Donut King at Garden City for a new Dreamy Donuts.

Oh well, I s’pose the next one I’ll try is the Chocolate Custard donut... click here to check out Dreamy’s sweet toothed menu.

Til next week.

Lots of love, Little J.

Croissant & coffee anyone?

Another freebie! This one is valid til Monday, a free croissant and coffee from McCafe courtesy of JS.


I recommed you copy and paste it into Word, print and claim.

Enjoy!
Lots of love, Little J

Loyalty... shopping loyalty

'It's great when you can get something for free' is what the sales assistant at Country Road said to me when picked my seam free bright apricot cami that I received for free in theory. It's actually from the $30 gift voucher I received recently, accompanied with a letter of appreciation for being such a loyal customer and for 'spending' over $750 at their stores in the last 12 months. Of course nothing comes for free most of the time; you’ve got to spend to receive something for free.

In reality, I probably spent half of that and the remaining amount was spent by KK and my mum. Most of you maybe already do this, but banning together to score shopping credits is the best way to earn gift vouchers and other free promotional goodies! (Another freebie for everyone, I’ve attached the link below, courtesy of JS that I missed.)

If you know you'll be shopping at the store anyway, why not sign up? As you know I'm a Myer One member and over the life of my membership I’ve earned over $160 of vouchers. A new promotion I received in the mail for the Myer One credit card is very tempting, with $30 credit in your opening balance and 2000 bonus points is worthwhile; in addition to the 1% return on standard spend in the form of vouchers. This fares pretty well considering most cards give you at the most a 0.5% cash back /reward and this explains their Cannex credit card award. Plus, you triple you points if you use the card at Myer.

Anyway to the freebie, you’ll need to show your Myer One card and to handover the voucher to get your sample size of the any of the Lancome mascaras of your choice. You’ve got up to Thursday 13th to grab your freebie, but if it’s after this date head to the city store. They ran out of samples when I went on Friday, but the sales lady suggested holding on to the voucher and coming back the following week when they get more stock in.

Gotta say I love sample sizes of mascaras, as I never finish a full sized one by the 6 month hygiene expiry date rule. GTG! Click here to grab your voucher.

Lots of love Little J.

Dior Pit Stop

I went to the Dior counter last week at Myer to get my foundie, of course I had to get another item to get my gift pack and found this absolute gem of a beauty product!

For all those who have ever wanted to use a liquid eyeliner, this is for you! The Diorliner is a bit different to traditional eyeliners that you don’t have to dip the felt tip into the liquid eyeliner pot. It works like a pen where the fine soft tip brush and liquid eyeliner are all in the one and makes for easy application.

It’s a simply a winding of the bottom barrel, the liquid comes out fluidly and just draw the colour onto the lash line. You can see how fine it can get with a bit of practice, to get the right definition.

In terms of wear, its has lasted me all day with no smudging, unless you accidentally rub your eye and it comes off easily with an ordinary cleanser.

From my old uni days working behind a beauty counter, I used to makeover for balls (and even a wedding once) I have to admit it’s easier to apply liquid eyeliner on others but doing it on yourself is another challenge in itself. For those of you who have put aside your standard liquid eyeliner, an alternative to throwing it out, a trick is to use a slanted makeup brush. Lightly dip the tip of the brush in liquid and a gentle stroke across the lid will give you a clean straight line.

You can do the same thing to dark powdered eye shadow to get the eyeliner effect.

Also, if you often get facials at beauty salon, consider get your next one at Dior! I discovered that if you get a facial at Dior (a full hour treatment), they will reimburse you for the same amount on any item at the counter, so it’s worthwhile if you need a new cleanser or new eyeliner! ;D

Til next week,

Lots love Little J

Dior Free Gift with Purchase

For those who are fans of Dior beauty products this is for you! I've been hanging out for this kind of free gift promotion, since I bled dry my bottle of Dior Skin foundation #031. It's a great liquid mineral foundation, that leaves a matte finish and doesn't leave your skin feeling oily by the end of the day.

I'm not going to post a pic of my very manky used up bottle but will say it takes a lot of convincing for me to go back and buy the same foundation. The only one I have bought over and over again is The Body Shop's All in One powder foundation #5 (probably about 5 times over a few years!).


The email states:

As a valued MYER one Member, you’re invited to be one of the first to experience this beautiful gift from Dior. When you purchase 2 products from the Dior Range*, you will receive this gorgeous Dior Beauty Pouch containing:

• Capture Totale Cream 15ml
• Mini 5 Couleurs Iridescent in Petal Shine
• Mini Diorshow Mascara in Black 5ml
• Mini Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Reflect in Organdi Pink 5ml
• Mini Hypnotic Poison Eau de Toilette 5ml.

Conditions of Offer: Offer available from 27/07/09 until 16/08/09 or while stock lasts. *One gift per Member. Two or more Dior products must be purchased in one transaction. Offer not available with the purchase of gift packs or promotional offers. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Dior 6 piece gift not available Albury, Ballarat, Belconnen, Bendigo, Brookside, Colonnades, Dubbo, Logan, Orange, Tuggeranong, Wagga and Werribee.

Quick note, some of you have asked how come I only get these types of offers as you haven't received them in your own inbox. The reason is that I've hit gold membership, but only cos I bought a few big ticket items last year like my laptop!

Til next week.
Lots of love, Little J

Some winter loving...

I have mixed feelings about winter, there are days like the past week where I have felt like I have been drowning in exhaustion in amidst of the cold, from the busy-ness of work, study at night, the house plans and planning with KK our trip to Japan.

Winter moments like these remind me of the song A Few Days Down, by Mandy Moore I love release it give me in acknowledging how I feel, all the mental and physical fatigue and my current state of incoherent-ness. This is a gorgeous old song that almost gives you the right to pull out chockies and indulge while watching a chick flick with some piping hot tea underneath your favourite throw rug (which is what winter is all about!).

That’s what I did last night I watched the movie PS I Love You starring Hilary Swank. She’s not an actress that I would peg to do a chick flick particularly with all the drama/action films she’s previously done but I really her as the heart warming and funny Holly.

How I ended up watching this movie because I started reading the book last Monday (written by Cecelia Ahern) and I was drawn to the story. Every night I had been reading it chapter by chapter and I finished all 500 pages of the book by Saturday.

It’s a beautiful yet sad love story about a woman who was deeply in love with her husband and soul mate and he was taken away from her because of a brain tumour. She is left feeling lost and holding on to his memory; even after his death he helps her in her transition by masterminding a series of letters not only to help her move on, but also from just existing in life to living each moment.

The book and movie brought so many tears to my eyes, a scene from the movie that that was real a tear jerker was after her husband’s wake. She goes home feeling displaced and afraid knowing she would not hear his voice again, she keeps calling his phone to hear his voice (from his voicemail) crawling in the foetal position finding a reason to hold on. For any one that has loved, this story makes you feel what true heart break resembles.

Click here for a preview, I really recommend it and hope you enjoy the movie if you watch it!

Til next week, lots of love Little J.

Cue Sale

For the next three days Cue is having sale of 20% off everything including sale items at their stores and at Myer.

All you need is your Cue card or try printing the image out and using it as voucher. If all else fails and you've found something you love let me know, I'll print the email out for you!

Lots of love, Little J.

The red lipstick...

The perfect combination with your little black dress, but you would never think you’d need to do a double take on your favourite lippy.

I recently received an email forwarded from EC, sent to her from person who works at a breast cancer unit Mt. Sinai Hospital, in Toronto (you may have come across it). It's about lippies that contain Lead, a Dioxin Carcinogens that causes cancer. The longer a lipstick lasts the more Lead is in it.

Normally, I would delete these emails because almost everything causes cancer these days, but as I was going out the other day and about to put on my red lippy I remembered the email naming Shiseido as one of the companies that used Lead as an ingredient.

So I did a quick test, from the instructions of the email:

1. Put some lipstick on your hand.

2. Use a Gold ring to scratch on the lipstick

3. If the lipstick colour changes to black

Then you know the lipstick contains lead.

The Shiseido is the third one from the top which went completely black after a few rubs with the original colour below it, a contrasting deep red.

I tested my two of my other lipsticks a Body Shop (top) and Dior Addict (second from the top) and the colour remained the same.

The email named the following brands to have used lead in their lippies:

- CHRISTIAN DIOR

- LANCÔME

- CLINIQUE

- Y.S.L

- ESTEE LAUDER

- SHISEIDO

- RED EARTH (Lip Gloss)

- CHANEL (Lip Conditioner)

Okay don’t fret about you beauty collection, I’m not saying you should ditch all you lipsticks from these listed brands (I’m not prepared to ditch all of mine either), but be aware of what you use and do the quick test. After all you life shouldn’t come down to the use of a lipstick. Goodbye red lippy!

Lots of love, Little J.

Lancome freebies!

We all love our free samples but it's even better when you get more than expected.

The freebie is for anyone possessing a Myer One card. You'll get a 15ml Hydra Zen moisturiser (which is half the size of a standard moisturiser), 3ml Hydra Zen eye cream and a 1ml soothing serum.

Here's the link for the voucher https://www.myerone.com.au//myerone/downloads/LancomeZen_voucher.pdf

Remember, you've got til Sunday or while their stocks last.

Enjoy, lots of love Little J

Hunch

Check it out the new website hunch.com if you are ever stuck on decision ask hunch!

I came across it while watching a morning breakfast show, they were talking about this new website that helps you make smart decisions, based on the information you tell Hunch and the collective knowledge of cyber space.

It’s set up so when you log in, you can teach Hunch about you from the random questions asked of you, from your likes and dislikes, what are your habits, your views on contentious topics with multi choice answers that you pick as your answer.

Some of the questions I’ve been asked are ‘when was the last time you blew a dandelion?’, ‘Have you ever attended a political protest, march, or rally?’, ‘do you make your bed every day?’ and if you don’t like what’s been asked of you just hit the skip button. Although these questions that teach Hunch about you might seem like a lot of work, they’re not and can be quite addictive. They just sit in the top right hand corner and you can answer as much or as little as you like with the click of a button. I’ve already answered over 200 questions in the few times that I’ve been on this site!

This is a really fun and I asked the question should I buy an iphone? Especially with KK selling me the features and benefits of having an iphone all the time and I know that quite a few of you love and adore this piece of technology. It asked me less than ten questions to decipher what was right for me and guess what check out my result below!

Haha, Mr KK I do not need one!

I also asked the question of where to go on holiday next, since travelling is always on my list of things to do. It asked me what questions like what kind of environment would my holiday be like, such as urban, ocean/beach, mountainous? What atmosphere I would like such as old world charm or vibrant & exciting? What kind of climate I like to visit?

My result Tokyo as #1! My runner ups are number 2 as Israel and 3 as New York!

It works to tailor what would suit me and I have actually been planning to go to Tokyo with KK. Except we maybe going back to Europe for Nice and to Barcelona instead, because of the cheap airfare sales that are on now. There is an Air Asia sale for tickets to London via KL for less than $800 including taxes return! Check out airasia.com for more info.

Anyhoo gtg, til next time lots of love Little J.

EOFY Sales & Window Shopping..

Not a good combination! Window shopping should never mean anything but buying windows for your house of car.

Skipping the gym on a Thursday night to go window shopping with Little Sis was a bad idea since the recent recovery of my credit card. I ended up buying a viscose wrap from Portmans at 60% off, a very yellow umbrella from Esprit (not on sale), a split ticket for tomorrow’s $90 million lotto jackpot and a cute teapot from one of my favourite stores T2.

I love heading into T2, its always so inviting with tiny samples of their variety of teas that most of the time I end up buying something. Earlier this year, my KK bought me the loose leaf Chamomile tea in the tin canister, I must admit the quality is better than other brands I’ve tried as when it’s brewed it becomes slightly thicker than other Chamomile teas and goes well with honey.

T2 teas are admittedly a bit pricey, so if you know better places to go to get standard teas like Green Tea that’s good quality and cheaper, get it there. A specialty tea that I bought this month from T2 that is worth it is Very Berry Fruitea. My best bud EC introduced me to it and is a tea we always have when I visit her place. It’s made up of various dried fruit like strawberries, elderberries, black berries, raspberry with rosehip and hibiscus when brewed produces jelly pink coloured tea. It’s caffeine free and not overly sweet and is perfect for a cold winter night in front of the telly.

The cute hand painted tea pot I bought, brews enough for a large cup perfect if you don’t feel like sharing or having much tea. What’s great about it (there’s not usually much great about a tea pot) is the tea strainer inside the pot sits close to the well of the tea pot, so it continues to infuse up to the last drop which some other pots do not do.

Some of my other purchases this week having free entry to the Every Woman Expo, I bought a couple of bottles of award winning olive oil by Dash, heaps of snacks to take home and these fresh-water pearl stud earrings. It was great value at less than $20, mainly because the backings and pins aren’t silver or gold (it’s the same quality you’d expect from Sportsgirl). I love the colour!

Anyway gtg, lots of love Little J!

Lush Bland?

Oh yes, it’s Ultra Bland! I’ve been looking for a very long time for a cleansing product that really gets rid of the makeup you’ve worn during the day or even for a night. A few months ago I went to Lush because I heard about their Henna range (a chemical free hair tint treatment) and was curious to what cleansers they had.

Every time, I go there it seems they push the Angels on Bare Skin cleanser simply because it’s their most popular cleanser and scrub all in one. The sales girl also showed me Ocean Salt and Ultra Bland trying them both on the back of my hand. The Ocean salt smelt refreshing with the Coconut with hints of lime and grape fruit, but felt a bit too rough. The Ultra Bland embodies it’s given name: Bland; on the back of my had it felt oily and slightly lard-ish, with no fragrance if any, maybe smelling a bit like glycerine. At the store I wasn’t convinced, but somehow I left with a 5 gram sample and only a month ago did I discover how great this product was.

I have to admit it’s hard to convince me to buy cleanser/scrub that has been tried on the back of my hand. Simply because we never cleanse/scrub/treat the back of our hands like we would on our faces, that of course any product would reveal beautiful, glowing and refreshed skin.

Anyway, this sample had been sitting there for a month or so before I decided to use it. It looks very much like hair wax and you use it in the same manner, except on your face. All you need is to pick a small amount with your finger, rubbing with a bit of warm water into the palms of your hands to heat it up before massaging it into your face. After a quick splash of warm water to the face, using a dry cotton pad you would wipe your face clean of the Bland; you’ll realise the magic of the product when you look at the pad. When I first used it I was gob-smacked by how dirty the cotton pad was with all the makeup I had worn during the day, everything from foundation, mascara and eye shadow. It seems the oil in the product binds itself to all the makeup on your skin and when you wipe it off, it wipes everything in its path.

What I love is most after using it, is that your skin feels amazingly baby soft, not at all greasy and doesn’t feel like makeup is still sitting deep in your pores. Reading the ingredients listing, I shouldn’t have been surprised, with stuff like the softening Honey and Peanut oil, clarifying Rose water and the Beeswax that does all the binding.

It’s definitely worthwhile trying if your cleanser can’t get rid of all the makeup residue left in your skin. I would recommend getting the 45gm instead of the 100gm as it’ll take you ages to go through the small one. Or better yet, pop into Lush and ask for a sample!

Lot of love, Little J.

Designer fashion sale!

If you are into designer fashion and your credit card is not worse for wear, check out this website they have a sale for up to 70% off Australian designer brands like Lisa Ho and Mad Cortes. The shipping costs are quite reasonable of $13 to anywhere in Oz. My only recommendation for shopping for clothes online is that you check the sizing chart with a tape measure on hand, so you know it fits you when the package arrives at your door.

I'm sure you want to know how to enter the comp, just sign up as a Loreal Beauty club member at http://www.lorealbeautyclub.com.au/ and they should send you the links.

Til next time, Little J.

First Blog

Hello, gorgeous people :) first blog... it’s something I keep on saying I’ll do and only now has it come to fruition. I’ve always wanted to share my comments on my favourite shopping conquests and yummy places I’ve eaten... so here goes...

One of my recent favourite purchases is the So French So Chic album, I absolutely love it cos it reminds me of Nice on the French Riviera... the cobble stone beaches, the fresh scrumptious pastries, puppies at cafes and the very relaxed atmosphere, if I could have a soundtrack for my time there it would definitely be this soundtrack. What does it sound like? It’s a mix of French pop, Indie & Chanson and is the unofficial soundtrack of the French Film Festival for 2009.



I went to the French Film Festival in Perth and saw Paris 36 (better than Moulin Rouge!) and after going through the album the first time, I definitely didn’t recognise any songs from the film. I read somewhere the soundtrack that it introduces and very often establishes up and coming French artists. Although it’s hard to single out, the songs I love from this soundtrack are 7 Heures Du Mat by Jacqueline Taïeb, Pourquoi Pas Moi by Stella and La vie à deux by Zaza Fournier.

How I came across this album, was for my birthday my boyfriend KK (his initials, I still haven’t decided if I’ll use people real names yet, this is the internet!!) took me to a lovely restaurant in Subi, Bistro Felix. It was the perfect night with cocktails, delicious beautifully presented European food and relaxing atmosphere. I asked the waitress we were talking to when we were paying, about the music they were playing and she was happy to tell me about how much the restaurant loves the album. They have the whole collection and play it there all the time. The So French So Chic albums have been out every year since 2005, I’ll be collecting them down the track once my credit card lets up.

If you want to have a listen, I found a website that lets you taste test the songs for yourself. http://cartellmusic.com.au/so-frenchy-so-chic-2009/
Enjoy! Lots of love Little J