diary IX

{Christmas gelato along the beach... my favourite flavours are pistachio and chocolate sorbet and the others got a classic favourite; mango and white chocolate}

{My favourite festive outfit. Simple and comfortable... and notice the three piercings again? I'm a little obsessed. Body alteration would never go as far as a tattoo or any piercings on other body parts but the ears seem quite versatile... perhaps I'll get my helix done? FreshTrends have quite a few pretty flowers for the helix so if I'm brave enough, I'll definitely have to snap them up. What do you guys think? Have you got any piercings?}

{The Christmas table setting! Oh my gosh, isn't it beautiful. My Aunty was responsible for this; she's a designing and planning extraordinaire and I was in awe over how stunning the decorations looked on Christmas Day}

{I'm not a beach girl but it did look lovely on Wednesday night...}

Hope you all had a magical Christmas and I'll talk to you all soon! xo

'tis the season...

I hope you all have a lovely, safe and merry Christmas. 

xo 

mint

 Ally t-shirt, Forever New lantern skirt, Oasap necklace available here, Revlon Lip butter in 'Raspberry Pie'

Today I braved the holiday crowds and caught the bus to our major shopping centre. It was a huge day out, I made new friends on the trips there and back (a lovely elderly couple who told me all about life back "when they were young" and a woman who I discussed Body Shop essentials with), I had sushi and a watermelon smoothie, shopped for five people, and kinda got home and dropped. My heels had the most horrendous blisters and to add to my list of glamorous personal occurrences; they bled and there is now blood all over my shoes. I mean, they hurt, but I didn't think they would bleed! Silly feet. 

I can't believe it's less than a week until Christmas, it surely doesn't feel like it. I've been pretty busy preparing over the last few days; we've all made rum balls and cookies and tonight I'm going to make cinnamon rolls (ala Izzy and her family) so I'm very excited about how those will turn out. 

On to the outfit: I'm really loving this odd combination of stripes and an exciting pattern. This skirt was found on the 50% off rack at Forever New and I couldn't pass it up. It's way too pretty. And festive. Plus, I needed a new skirt! Ok, yes, I've justified it enough... 

Anyway, I hope you're all geared up for Christmas and you're spending time with your loved ones! I need to play more carols to get into the spirit. Talk to you soon! xo

december // mid-month favourites

    

Hello internet! So, it's been a while since I last made a video and that's partly because a) I have no idea how to compose myself like a proper young lady in front of the camera and b) every time I attempt to film a video something goes wrong. This video was quite funny and enjoyable to make though - my sister Jo "helped" me with the set up but decided to sabotage my work half way through which was just great. I hope you like it regardless and are having a lovely holiday! It's so good being back into the swing of blogging, I've missed you all too much. xo

P.S: I'd love to know what your favourites are! Let me know in the comments!

  

grapefruit lemonade

First outfit post of the Summer! Woohoo! The weather hasn't been too awful either. The perfect balance between hot and cool, windy and humid. I just jinxed it though; tomorrow will be a scorcher I bet and I will probably have no choice but to laze about under the fan and drink something refreshing - while listening to Michael Buble's Christmas album - obviously. 

I bought this dress last Monday from Tree of Life on an improptu shopping trip with my friend Zana. We also saw the new Hunger Games film (bloody fantastic!) and then went to work straight after. This dress was definitely a lucky find, it's so summery and cool and has a slightly festive vibe about it. 

I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend and I'll talk to you soon. 

P.S: As per the usual, thank you for the comments, emails and messages in regards to my acne posts. It is such an awesome feeling knowing you've helped people and I hope some of you found hope and  inspiration in those posts if you are suffering from acne or know someone who is. 

ACNE // 8 month update, scarring, skincare (and pictures!)

(My skin: no editing, no makeup, December 2013)

Hey everyone! So it's been just over three months since I last updated you all on the state of my skin and how Roaccutane is going (and here's the link to that first post if you haven't already seen it). Oh my goodness, it's just wonderful. I can't even find words to describe how relieved and happy I am feeling about my skin. It's been officially eight months since I started this medication with a pretty hopeless attitude and terrible, terrible skin that I thought would never have a chance at getting better. But! Here I am, more than two thirds of the way through my treatment (finishing next April, woohoo!), with skin that has never been healthier and a much more confident, positive outlook on life. There's still a few more pimples that have to come through (mainly around the sides of my forehead, my chin and near my nose), but otherwise, I have zero active acne. 

What I am most pleased about is the minimal scarring and the healing process. I went and saw my dermatologist yesterday and he was extremely happy with how things were going in that regard. I'm quite lucky because I am still quite young and since my skin is at it's best (biologically), the scarring will be minimal and unnoticeable, especially with time. He also told me that redness accentuates the appearance of scars, but once I am off roaccutane for about two weeks, the redness will disappear due to it being a normal side effect. Yippee! 

I still haven't really gotten any major side effects aside from extremely delicate skin and a bit of eczema and pealing on my legs, but there's not really much I can do about that aside from lots of moisturising, which really isn't a problem. A few people contacted me in regard to the last post I did and mentioned the suicidal thoughts and depression that a people can develop from roaccutane. I haven't had anything like that at all so far and I'm really blessed. 

As for makeup and skincare, I am able to use different products (other than the ultra-sensitive QV formulas) as long as they are organic and don't have any nasties in them. I was on the hunt for something affordable, effective and most importantly, safe for my skin. Sukin is definitely a winner. I've been using the face wash for a few weeks now, and I bought the facial mist and moisturiser yesterday. The products are really excellent and I think I got all three for about $10 each. So if you have sensitive skin or would just like to try something different, I would highly recommend it. 

Makeup is such an easy task now! Gee wiz. I use a light coverage foundation and a primer (which are only sometimes necessary). I actually went shopping the other day WITHOUT MAKE-UP ON. That is kinda a huge deal for me!

(No makeup, no editing. April 2013 vs. November 2013)

Before and after. I can't believe that comparison. The picture on the left is probably not even the worst of it. It makes me really sad seeing this photo, because it brings back pretty horrible memories of unhappiness for me. I was such a different girl back then, and even though it was only months ago, I still remember that Maria. She was sad, terribly insecure and felt hopeless. The photo on the right however, is a snippet of what I've become. I still have a while to go, but what I have achieved this year as an individual is more than I ever thought would be possible. And it's only going to get better from here. 

P.S: Thank you for the support and love, as always. I have the best readers ever and I cherish every single one of you that takes the time to read this blog. In the meantime, if you like to keep up to date regularly with my progress (or perhaps see more pictures), you can check out my acne.org profile and my progress album here.