PSA: A friendly reminder to check your breasts.

As someone with a pretty heavy family history of breast cancer, I'm hyper-aware of the need for early detection. This honestly saves lives.

So every month on the 13th, I'll post this same blog post to remind all of my beautiful readers to have a check (your gender is not important here, every human is at risk for breast cancer), including the entire chest area and under your arms.
If you find something out of the ordinary, it'll be terrifying, but go to your doctor to have it checked ASAP. Don't put it off and hope it'll go away.

As a bonus, for my readers with testicles....give them a bit of a check too.

PSA: A friendly reminder to check your breasts.

As someone with a pretty heavy family history of breast cancer, I'm hyper-aware of the need for early detection. This honestly saves lives.

So every month on the 13th, I'll post this same blog post to remind all of my beautiful readers to have a check (your gender is not important here, every human is at risk for breast cancer), including the entire chest area and under your arms.
If you find something out of the ordinary, it'll be terrifying, but go to your doctor to have it checked ASAP. Don't put it off and hope it'll go away.

As a bonus, for my readers with testicles....give them a bit of a check too.

PSA: A friendly reminder to check your breasts.

As someone with a pretty heavy family history of breast cancer, I'm hyper-aware of the need for early detection. This honestly saves lives.

So every month on the 13th, I'll post this same blog post to remind all of my beautiful readers to have a check (your gender is not important here, every human is at risk for breast cancer), including the entire chest area and under your arms.
If you find something out of the ordinary, it'll be terrifying, but go to your doctor to have it checked ASAP. Don't put it off and hope it'll go away.

As a bonus, for my readers with testicles....give them a bit of a check too.

Skin care for people who love the outdoors

O. Nidiformis, glowing "Ghost Mushroom"

Most of you may not be aware of the reason I missed last week's blog post, and haven't done a pamper Wednesday either. It's pretty simple, really. I'm very much a lover of the outdoors, an avid photographer, who specializes in Australian Flora and Fauna.
 Ghost Mushroom season is upon us, so I'm spending a lot of time outside at night taking suuuuuper long exposures of mushrooms to capture their eerie green glow (pictured here, taken 28 April, 2019). There are also still Aussie native orchids out, which I love to capture often.The short story is that I'm busier than usual.

I was thinking about it, and I really should share with you guys, my skincare (and haircare) needs have changed a little bit with all the activity out in the cold evening air, and early morning briskness. It's a much harsher environment for the skin, purely in terms of weather, but when you add in the extra things I'm needing to apply, like mosquito repellant (this is what absolutely destroys my hair), it's a bit of an assault on my epidermis.

The rare and endangered Caleana Major "Flying duck orchid"

So... what steps am I taking to make sure my skin doesn't start flaking off and getting out of control.
I should start by adding that I have a chronic illness (end-stage Hashimoto's Disease - I essentially don't have a thyroid, but still have the autoimmune symptoms the disease caused when it was destroying it for me) which makes me very dry in some areas. I'm needing a lot more moisture in general when it comes to my skin.
I'm also quite uneven in my skintone these days, which is partly age and partly health. I've chosen the following product range based on those 2 factors.

Every day, in the shower, I'm using Olay's Regenerist Luminous Brightening Cream Cleanser. It was part of a gift pack that I bought with the other 2 Olay products that I'll mention here, and included a really cute toiletries bag.
It's a scrub without having a scrub. Very gentle exfoliation and cleansing designed to target dark spots and uneven skintone. It's been a bit of a lifesaver really, because I was finding other exfoliants were really upsetting my skin, which is now quite sensitive. It's not offensively perfumed, and it's in a tube, which is nice and easy to use. Part of my illness is pain in my arm joints and fingers, so jars can sometimes be difficult.

After the shower, while I'm plopping my hair, I apply the Tone Perfecting Treatment from the same range. It's essentially a serum, which also has those properties for evening up skintone, and starting to get a bit of moisture into your skin. I really like this packaging because it doses the dropper for you as you twist off the lid. You really don't need any more than the standard dose, as it goes a long way. I'm really enjoying this. Again, not offensively or excessively fragranced, and the packaging is mostly disability-friendly and easy to use.

Once the serum has had a minute to soak in, I go straight over it with Tone Perfecting Cream. It's doing all the heavy lifting when it comes to moisturising my skin, and it's doing a really good job. It's a fantastic day cream, which keeps me hydrated and comfortable all day long and I'm finding even on the chilly evenings, I'm not getting that dried-out skin feeling when I'm out and about.
Same deal as the others, it's not offensive to the nose, and the packaging, even though it's a jar that I need to screw the lid off, it's a soft-close packaging, which makes it easy to open and close.
 

Last, but not least, the big guns. I will admit that I don't use this every night, mostly because I forget, or I'm so tired that I just fall asleep before I get a chance to use it. Manuka Doctor Restoring Night Cream is expensive. It's worth every single cent. It's been a staple in my skin care routine for about 5 years now, and I won't be without it. You only need a tiny bit to get that "slathered in luxury night cream" feeling, and when you wake up in the morning after the first time you use it, your life will never be the same. This is my holy grail, absolutely must-have-it product of all time.

I'm going to just let the results speak for themselves. This photo doesn't have a filter on it, I'm wearing mascara but literally nothing else (as evidenced by my complete lack of eyebrows) and I'm an almost-40-year-old woman who is so, so happy with her skin. Yes, I'll admit that it's partly amazing genes, and partly that I carry extra weight, but there's a good part of it that's taking care of my skin. I absolutely encourage all of you to do the same. We only get one epidermis. Treat it nicely and it will reward you.

You can find Manuka Doctor at Chemist Warehouse and Priceline. I think it's around the $50 mark for a jar that will last you months and months.
Olay can be found at leading mass stores and pharmacy outlets (I know chemist warehouse for sure) and the pack I bought was around $40 for all 3 products and the bag.

This post is not sponsored, nor was I gifted the products for review. I believe in honesty and open disclosure and trust that my readers appreciate both of those things.

If you'd like to follow my photography adventures, they are over at Katy Lylak Photography

Clean your frickin' brushes!

I'm so ashamed of the state that my makeup brushes get into. I'm such a filthy urchin when it comes to washing makeup brushes, which makes NO sense, because I like to think I take really good care of my skin. Here's a newsflash for (me and) you! If you're rubbing dirty sponges and brushes all over your face, you're depositing so much more than just makeup into your pores.
If you're randomly breaking out and blaming your foundation, or that you've been "wearing too much makeup", maybe it's just that your trusty tools need a bit of attention. This is certainly almost always the case for me. I'm not showing you, it's too gross.

It's not even hard or time consuming to do (though you do need to give them some time to really dry out properly).

Here's how I do it:

Products: I absolutely swear by Daiso's puff and sponge cleaner. It's AMAZING, and its cheap (because Daiso!) and I've never used anything that leaned brushes and sponges quite as effectively and efficiently as this does.They also have a brush cleaner product, but I have't tried that yet. I'm almost out of the 5 bottles I bought the last time I went to Daiso, so I'll see if I can get both this time and do a bit of a review for you.

Then it's simple, warm running water (don't leave your brushes soaking in water, it's not going to do anything extra except make the hairs fall out of them), a squirt of cleaners into the palm of your hand and off you go! Run the brush under the tap until it's wet through, then swirl it into the cleanser in your hand, really working the product into the brush hairs. Repeat as necessary until the water runs clear, then give the brush a gentle squeeze and set aside on a towel of in a drying rack. Don't pull at the hairs as you're squeezing out the water. Leave them to dry, give them a swirl on the towel when they're half dry to fluff the hairs up, and then once you've got them completely dry again, they're ready to use!

I don't know if it's my cleaning method, or the fact that they're just amazing brushes, but my set is mostly comprised of Real Techniques brushes (both old school and the gorgeous metal ones) and they come back to near-new when I clean them. I say near-new because 2 of my eyeshadow brushes are stained from intense pigment shades, and I'm ok with that.
The handles are looking 5 years old, let's be honest. They're worn and a bit discoloured at the ends, but the bristles/hairs are still beautiful and soft, and they bounce back to their original shape every single time. I'm thoroughly impressed, both with my brushes and the cleaning process.

Go grab your brushes and sponges now, have a look, if they're gross or you just haven't cleaned them in a while, get to it! Your skin will thank you!

Pamper Wednesday: An overview and basic face mask evening (with wine!)

Oh Pamper Wednesday, how I've missed you! It's nice to have an "obligation" to take a tiny bit of time to take care of myself. It's been a long time, so I'll break down how pamper Wednesday works for you again, and then we'll get into my Wednesday pamper for this week.

Pamper Wednesday is all about taking a little bit of time to focus on your own wellbeing. It doesn't have to be beauty related, it could just be sitting down to read a book, or watch a show that only you love to watch in your house, it could be a glass of wine, or a piece of chocolate. Anything that makes you feel calm and relaxed.

Today, for me, it'll be a face mask and a glass of red wine, watching my guilty pleasure show (KUWTK - I swear I started watching it just because the little one was so mean and it was funny, but now she's not mean any more and cries a lot, but I'm still over here watching)
I have quite a collection of face masks, and I have to admit, I'm playing favourites with my brands over the last couple of years, because I really love Sukin's collection of face mask products. They don't break me out or make my skin go crazy, and in particular, the pink clay mask is beautiful and leaves my skin feeling so soft and clean.

After the show is over and I wash off my mask, I might head to bed with my new book, The man in the High Castle (Philip K. Dick.) I've watched the first season of the TV show based on this book, and it's absolutely fascinating. It's a fantasy alternate history, in which the Allies lost WW2. Kind of a heavy subject matter, but really brilliant, and I can't speak to the plot without giving things away, but I will say that it sits well with me as a fantasy book, and I'm not in any way offended nor do I feel that it is presented in a way that would be disrespectful to those sensitive to this subject matter.

My wine for this evening is Stumpy Gully 2017 Pinot Noir. We love a local wine here on the Mornington Peninsula. This wine is smooth and subtle, just exactly the kind of thing that's perfect for me. I'm not about those bold shiraz-y wines and like something a bit more subdued. This wine is lovely, but it's unfortunately sold out, so you'll just have to join me in trying their 2018 pinot, or their other wines. Their Peninsula Panorama Pinot Noir is a great introduction to Pinot Noir from the Peninsula. It's made in a fresh style for early drinking.
Responsible drinking, etc. I don't think I have to tell you not to guzzle 42 litres of wine (though sometimes the kids might make you feel like you need to!) I plan to just have one good glass with my face mask and chill out.

Enjoy your Pamper Wednesday! Head on over to facebook and let me know how you chose to relax today!

Keep an eye out for stumpy gully wines at your local bottle-o, or make a trip down to our beautiful mornington peninsula! Their cellar door is open 7 days from 10am – 5pm, and online shop is open 24 hours a day with free postage! (minimum order 6 or 12 bottles). They have very reasonably priced wines starting from $22 in their cellar door and online up to the premium range at $50.  

Sukin products are available Nationally at major pharmacies including Chemist Warehouse, Priceline, My Chemist and health food stores. 

This post is not sponsored, nor were the products mentioned above gifted to me for blog purposes. I value honesty above all, and assume that my readers do too. All opinions stated are my own.

How I saved my nails from years of damage and abuse.

 I was pretty horrible to my nails for a really long time. I've posted heaps of nail art things on this blog, in which you can see my lovely long acrylic nails. They were tough and rarely broke, and it was great....but my fingers were sore, I had multiple burn marks on my nail beds from overzealous dremel filing, I lived in fear every time I was cut with a manual file (this happens WAY more often than you'd expect and there's no way to sterilize them, nor do they throw them away), and every time I had a reset/refill, I was confronted by the horrendous state of my natural nail underneath.

So I went the "healthy" way and switched to SNS. Because " SNS doesn't damage your nails. BULLSHIT. I call absolute bullshit. The process that they use to "prepare" your nails under it is exactly the same as acrylic (not to mention that SNS is actually just acrylic powder) and I was left with the same sad state of affairs on every finger.

After a year or so of this, I decided enough was enough, I'd stop torturing myself and grow off the damage (There is no other way. You can't repair nails that have been filed away). It took a -really- long time. The cuticles were damaged, my poor nails were thin and brittle, and as I left my nails alone, I noticed that without the "protection" of a coating, the skin around my cuticles was getting pretty nasty.

I'm an anxious nail biter, and I pick at nail polish, so after I realized that nail polish could provide a bit of protection for my nail edges and cuticles, I set about looking for a polish product that has some staying power, whilst not being invasive in any way, like shallac is.

My salvation came in the form of an old favourite brand with a new lid colour. Boy does it fit the bill, and then some.

OPI Infinite Shine has been around for a few years now, so their colour selection is immense. I have trouble choosing when I go to buy "just one, I promise!", and now my collection is up to about 20 colours, plus the primer and top coat.

 First, we start with the base coat, which gives the nail a good starting point for the polish to bond to, without drying out the nailbed or harming the natural nail in any way.

Next, a thin coat of your choice of colour. Let it dry before then adding a second, more generous coating.

Last, but definitely not least, is the top coat. It's hard as nails (see what I did there?) and dries SO fast. You're good to go (carefully) in about 5 minutes, and completely dry in 20. It's truly amazing.

It dries crystal clear, doesn't matte out nail art gems, and stands up to hard treatment, even in water.

It's not a cheap product. In fact, once you buy a base and top coat, and a couple of shades, you're not going to get much change from $100, BUT you definitely get what you pay for and it's worth every cent.


It's good enough that I'm exclusively using Infinite Shine nail lacquers now, and have been for about a year. They've even released a fine silver holo, which will make all the holosexuals out there extremely happy (shout out to simply nailogical, for those unaware of the term holosexual).

So now I'm one of those people who has lovely long, healthy natural nails, and I'm certain that wouldn't be the case if I hadn't started using Infinite Shine. If you're struggling to grow off damage, or just want a new and awesome nail product, give it a try!

This post is not sponsored and I wasn't gifted the products for review. This blog represents my own opinions.
I value honesty, and assume that my readers do too.

Infinite Shine by OPI is available at all good nail salons, Myer and David Jones nationally.