how to get the best deal on Netflix and similar streaming services to save money

Hi loves! today I have an exciting post, about saving money on Netflix, or any streaming services you are subscribed too. I've had netflix for approx 8 months now and I do have to say I'm addicted to it even if its not as good s the American version. I don't watch much normal television, but subscribing to premium services like these, can get expensive! let me share my tips with you on how to save your dollars! it is the near year after all. 

1. Look for deals

Deals are often found at the beginning of the year or the middle of the year, these sales often start off with a bang, I originally got my netflix for free when I signed up with Optus, saving me $12 a month which was great as I didn't know if I'd like it or not. 

2. Try the before you buy option

Sometimes you might not like what they have to offer, so far I've tried stan, and netflix and prefer netflix, it just depends on what works for you, whether it has enough diversity. I love netflix because it has doco's, comedy, and drama.

3. Research what offer is best

Netflix has many offers, I chose the $11 a month one because I didn't need the ultra hd service as I don't have a compatible laptop etc to watch on it anyways, and I only wanted to stream it on two things such as my tablet, laptop or television. 

4. Free to air websites 

These are free and require you only go have your internet connected! it means you can find similar shows, I love abc dramas! and their cop shows are pretty good to, you can catch up anytime and still not pay a cent!

let me know if these tips have helped you! also what service do you have?

Happy new year! 

Hugs

Jess

how we spend Summer!

Hi loves! today I had a day at the pool, thanks to my bestie as she's gone on vacation and let me loose at her place, well not really, but she did give me permission to use her pool! and so I did! we are having a heatwave currently and I tell you the water was such a relief.

My hubby took this photo and I love how it turned out! mind you I'm white as a lilly! I basically burn as soon as I'm in the sun, but the hat and one piece are from Kmart, from a few years ago.

Her dog, Rusty is a clever boy! he was taught to use the pool so they wouldn't have to be as worried by him, he was originally very water shy!

staying hydrated is always important! Kirks creamy soda and mineral water,

Any suggestions for some self tanning products I could look into? as you can see I'm as white as they get! don't want to look orange though!


only one more sleep until New years eve! how was your day today? you can catch my vlog here about our day at the pool.

chillin by the pool Summer vlog

Hugs Jess

How to save money on Alcohol this new years eve!

Hi lovelies! today I have a post on saving money! and who doesn't like saving money? especially on things that, well we don't actually need, but want? I rarely buy this much alcohol, I'm not a huge drinker, but every now and again I like to splurge on myself and its usually around New years eve. I'm also always shocked at how expensive alcohol is getting.

This is a premium cider, Coles usually I have it for around $5.99 a bottle but Aldi's usually stocks up on certain flavours for $3.99 a bottle.

But I have 5 steps on how you can save money on your drinks!

First tip.
Shop around! do your research, I usually start looking around at deals a month before nye because shops are wanting to get you to buy up for Christmas, they usually have excellent deals around this time of year.

Aldi pre mixed drinks are a great buy! four pack for $9.99 and a great variety of flavours and styles to please all!

Second tip.
Buy online, buying online can be a hassle but you can generally wrangle free shipping, and a good percentage off because you aren't dealing with the middle man.

Third tip. 
Know what you want, being indesicive isn't going to help matters when trying to save money, look for the best deals in your alcohol range and you will save money.

Fourth tip.
Go to shops like Aldi! I love aldi alcohol, I've found some gems of wines at Aldi's and they are only $5 a bottle. I love independent shops because generally they know how to work out a good deal for their customers.

Fifth tip
Buy in bulk and buy from the cellars, generally the best price for wines this way! if you are  a wine drinker, like me, then you'll appreciate this tip! go in with friends and family and buy as much as you can afford and you'll get the most value.

I purchased this Jim beam bottle for $35.00 at IGA, usually full priced at $38.79, so that bought the coke I needed as the bottles were also on special at IGA for $1.79 each.

Date night in pictures

Hi guys! today I'm writing about my date night that hubby took me too last night, we went and saw the latest Balboa movie, Creed!  We love the classics so it was interesting to see how they created a modern Balboa movie.

 This was my makeup that I did! a purple cut crease and Boes beauty lipstick vip, love t

The movie was fantastic! a really good blend of new and old cause I was wondering how they would do that for a classic series like Rocky.

And then hubby tried winning something in the claw! and he actually won! he won the Darth Vader plushie.

So that was my date night!

hugs Jess

BOE beauty lipstick swatches and review

Hi lovelies! today I have a review and lip swatch of the iconic brand establishing itself in BigW! you might have heard of it, the $2 range of Boe Beauty? everyone raves about their lip products, on Instagram, and I went and purchased a couple of items as BigW had a sale, and who can resist a sale anyways?

I picked up three of their lipsticks, and three of their lip liners, and I basically got their lipliners for free because if you bought 2 items you got the 3rd free and I think I purchased 8 items in the end lol.

I chose two colours I knew I'd get a lot of wear out of, the nude and the cool toned hot pink, and I chose something more out of my comfort zone, the coral orange. There names are Date night (for the brownie nude one) Primped (for the coral orange one) and Vip (for the pink one) I love all of them! the consistency of these lipsticks are pigmented yet creamy, they actually moisturise my lips and stay on for a good 6 hours before I need to reapply.

 The Primped lipstick I'm currently obsessing over! its so opaque and doesn't tug on the lips, I also really love the colour, its perfect for summer. I kinda feel though its more vibrant in real life than what my camera does for it.

 I never used to be into brown lipsticks but I couldn't pass this one up for $2! its not as opaque but a couple of swipes and it comes along nicely. Perfect for every day and a nice feeling on the lips. I am getting used to wearing browns, I want to get a couple more from their range. This is more a cinnamon brown I think.

My personal favourite out of the three is VIP its meant to be a matte cream, as is Primped. However I think they are too creamy too be a true matte. However I adore cool toned, hot pink lipsticks, and this one is opaque and long lasting just like Primped. I think the matte formula makes it easier to apply ev even though they are still very creamy.

You can see how pigmented Primped and VIP are in these swatches, one swipe and they are very good, but the Date night one is a tad lacking, I do have the matching lip liner and that does help the colour pay off.

Pro's
Very good quality for the price
Easy to obtain
Good colour range

Con's
Only at bigw
cheap packaging


So there you go! my thoughts on three must have lip shades for this summer! what are you wearing on your lips at the moment?

hugs Jess

one of the best blushes from 2015 Essence Blush up Heat wave

Hi guys! I seem to be on a roll finally with my blog posts as of late! so that's exciting! I'm getting excited about beauty products again. So this one is a thrill to me, I was late on the bandwagon of actually getting these blushes and got them when Essence had a clearance sale on them, so I fear they may be being discontinued. I have no idea why, or what's happened to the usual Jess, however I've become a huge sucker for blush! especially if they are as pretty as this one!

 Essence I believe is being unique in the drugstore world because not many companies that aren't high end have brought out ombre products such as these. I feel they did a really nice job on getting the colours right for each other, colour placement is important in an ombre! There are two different colours in this blush, that fade into each other really well. A true orange, and a very vibrant pink, so I find these blushes really good value.

I haven't had any issues with this blush, its extremely smooth, pigmented, and blends out super well, and best of all it doesn't feel chalky. I find the staying power of this blush lasts most of the day, and looks really sweet on my fair complexion. I only dab a little on, because I don't want to look clownish!

have you used these blushes yet? I do have the pink one and love it too! let me know your favourite blush of 2015.

Blush favourites!

hugs Jess

Model co lash and line

I love winning, we all do right? I especially love winning makeup items, and Modelco held a competition through the year and I was able to win their Lash and line liquid eye liner, mascara two in one product.  As you can work out this is a multitasking product! a two for one kinda thing which I love!

It has a end of the eye liner and one for the mascara, both formulas are amazing, I especially love the liquid eye liner as the formula isn't too thick, runny, or goopy. It glides on the eye lid without smudging, dragging, or streaking where you don't want it too, and the nib is fine enough to get precise lines and flicks. You really get a versatile brush for the eye liner here! very easy to control and hold with the short handle.

The formula is jet black, doesn't go grey and dries to a nice matte finish which I'm very appreciative in my liner. The mascara is also good, doesn't dry crunchy, doesn't flake but doesn't do a whole lot else for me, it gives me length, just not volume.

This is one product where I feel like I can actually create a wing! maybe not as sharp to kill a man, however but still a wing.

Have you tried this? what are your thoughts?

hugs Jess

what to expect when beauty blogging

Hi my loves! I took a random break just because my laptop went haywire because of this blasted heatwave we had to endure. Summer is here, Christmas is around the corner and I'm trying to keep up with everything in between. However today's topic is about, what to expect when you start beauty blogging! I've been doing this for a couple of years now, and whilst I'm by no means a huge, popular blog by any means, I do believe in sharing products I love and or don't love.

01. Most bloggers are actually very unable to make choices without browsing their favourite blogs first. I however actually look at blogs after I have purchased a product if at random, unless I'm really unsure then I'll look at swatches and reviews and it helps me to make up my mind.

02. You'll spend so much time looking at your blog, hating the layout, tweaking it, then hating it some more and changing it all together.

03. If you are like me and live in Australia you'll get season envy, we are in Summer, and most are in Winter, showcasing their love of candles, Pumpkin spiced lattes and so on.

04. You will forever be searching for new items, its now become a habit of mine and maybe a bit of an obsession, I have half finished bottles and products everywhere.
 i
05. You will want to change your blog url a thousand and one times haha if only we could do that in real life with our names

so guys and gals there are some things of what to expect! If you are new to blogging let me know! or even if you are a veteran of sorts!

hugs JESS

Designer brands by db make up roundup!

Hi lovelies! today I worked out I have a growing collection of Designer brands make up Designer brands by db has flourished lately, the last few years I never, really took any notice of them but this last year however, wow!

I'm going to show you my current favourites of their products that I own, and have tested out myself, so I know these work for me. I also have their full range of long lasting lipsticks because I won it earlier on their instagram prize. But I'm showing other products at the moment. Let me know if you want a round up of their lip products.

A lot of their products are certified for no parabens, talc, and I find that so incredible at these prices.

Ok so I have, ten products! I can't believe actually how my stash of db cosmetics have grown but it has quite significantly. Not only are they're products really good quality, especially for the price point, they are accredited cruelty free and vegan friendly.

So starting off with their Pro contour kit, you get six amazing shades, ranging from warm to cool, I love this palette and for $17.99 its worth it. However I had to buy mine on their website as I can't find it in stock. I also got free shipping at the time which is why I jumped on the band wagon because Instagram was going nuts for this Kat Von D dupe.

Next their snowflake palette, also $17.99 and a Christmas limited edition, so many shades to play with for a variety of looks, I wont be running out of eye shadows any time soon, blends out well, and decently enough pigmented.

Their Glam clutch eye shadow palette is a true favourite of mine! I picked it up half price at my local chemist but you can buy it online. 10 shades ranging from shimmer to matte, earthy and purple based, I love this palette! its glittery silver clutch is also stunning, and easy to travel with.

The trio concealer correction palette I picked up when I ordered online as a free gift as I had purchased three products. Very creamy, and easy to blend, works well on my fair skin tone, and love the salmon and purple for brightening and correcting.

The Pore minimizing primer, is meant to be a dupe for the porefessional by benefit and I love this primer! You don't need to use a lot, it blends out well, and also fills in fine lines, and my large pores which I like to hide, a lot! anyone else out there like me? for $14.99 I believe, looks exactly like the benefit one when applying.

Another benefit dupe is their high lights liquid, illuminated, a radiant glow that looks from within, peachy pink in shade, and very flattering on the skin. $9.99, great price point for a drugstore product, there are two shades, I have the shade starlight and the other one available, is bronzing.

Their long wearing foundation is a big thing at the moment, recently purchased I've been testing it out the last couple of weeks. $12.99 its a dupe for the Estee lauder double wear foundation, which is why I bought it because I cannot afford high end.

Next is the Gatsby palette which was a limited edition but I managed to snag mine amazingly at the reject shop for $3.50! its got an amazing array of eye shadows, blushes and powders and I use it on a daily basis as I picked up two of them. It's stunning rose gold case looks, well stunning!

The designer brands liquid eye liner is one of my all time favourite liquid eye liners, it has shimmer in it but once dried on the eye lid, you can't notice it that much, it was a freebie gift, however so I'm not sure how much it is, however their other liquid eye liners are good too for the price of $8.99, they do have one similar called Silver glitter.

The most recently purchased eye shadow palette was the Midnight moon palette which is limited edition, and I picked up mine from my chemist as it was on sale with $2 off, I'm actually stoked with the colour pay off on this! pigmented, creamy, very good to blend out, you can see my first impressions of it here! first impressions usually $14.99 I thought I'd give this baby a whirl for its money, and I'm glad I did!

no filter, natural daylight pic

what are your designer brands by db favourites?

anything you think I should try next? I'm a huge fan of their eye shadows! amazing quality for such prices. 

hugs Jess

Designer brands limited edition midnight moon Christmas 2015 palette

I might have gone shopping... after my doctors appointment today I needed a bit of cheering up, because I had to get some diagnoses and what not, and that's always boring/annoying/being a downer. However the chemist where I went to get my medication had an eye shadow palette that I've been lusting after for a wee bit, since Db Cosmetics launched their Christmas stock a month ago actually. I was surprised that they were having a xmas sale so I got the palette for $2 less. I got the foundation too however that's going back tomorrow as, I got the wrong one, lightwear instead of full coverage lol

 The packaging is a sleek black case, not plastic but almost a soft padded feel so not really certain, mostly cardboard but nice enough and sturdy enough. It is also shimmery but the shimmer doesn't rub off. However I have already noticed that the case does get messy with fingerprints, and eye shadow smudges quite easily.

 The shadows are shimmery, however can appear semi matte in the swatches, I think its just the over spray of glitter on the eye shadows. You get 8 eye shadow colours, they swatch amazingly well, this was one swipe on each colour, the only one that didn't do too well was the light pink shade.

I loved the bolder colours and the white was a nice shimmery white which is pigmented. They blend out well, and are buildable in colour. So this was my first impressions of this eye shadow palette, what have you guys been buying?

hugs Jess

Silent illnesses and being a burden. A chatty update.

Hi lovelies, today I thought I'd share with you some thoughts I've had on my health and what not, this week has been hard. I must admit, I've come to the realization that my body is not perfect, not that I ever thought it was but it seem's that with its knocks, hard work and so on, its catching up on me. I'm only 31 years old, but I've been diagnosed with lymphoedema. I was 14 when I had feet reconstruction in both feet, because they were turned in and had other complications as well, the side effect of that operation is now known to me. Chronic pain, severe swelling to the point I can't walk some days

But I press on, on days I can, I push forward and then almost regret it like I do now, feeling sorry for myself. I know there are others who are a lot worse off. But I wanted to raise awareness, and know for myself I still can do something. Silent illnesses are a burden but not all is bleak!

I am enrolling in school again and was quite taken with the building that I'll be attending to next year if all goes well.

I'm also trying to be more healthy with my diet as of late, and am eating more fruit, fruit smoothies, and salads I've been eating less meat, rarely eat meat these days except if I'm really craving it

I've also had some interesting updates from my doctors, being diagnosed with Chronic pain syndrome, and are trying to develop an action plan for me so I can deal with things better and not let things get on top of me, self care is so important to everyone! this is what I'm learning about, I need to remember its ok to rest, to take a painkiller if needed, and not feel guilty about doing so.


On a happier note, I'll be catching up with my good instagram friend Mel, and we will be in the city for some girl time, shopping and Christmas shopping.

Anyways guys and gals that's my life's update for now! I do hope yours is going as well as it can or wonderfully!

Let me know how you are doing in the comments below!

lots of love,

Jess

a lipstick love affair

Hi lovelies! well its no hidden secret that I adore a good lipstick or two!or (32 and counting) I also love a good drugstore lipstick, that's cheap and good quality, is there such a thing in Australia? yes! Savvybydb in the last couple of months brought out their reduced line and limited line of products, they had eye liners, mascaras, lipglosses and lipsticks, I picked up each shade of lipstick at the time, and they were $3 each.

Well let me tell you they are not only good quality, they actually also smell really nice when applying, are pigmented, creamy and I have fallen in love with one in particular

This savvy by db lipstick is in the shade velvet, I love its pinky raspberry tones, and paired with my current favourite lipliner in bitter by elf, its magical.  I'm somewhat actually saddened by the fact that this is a limited edition product. When they run out, that's it, no more.

I love these as they are longlasting, opaque, and are so so creamy they don't tug on the lips, and the colour is amazing.

Have you fallen in love with a lipstick?
hugs Jess

Chichi beauty sponge a dupe for the beauty blender

Hello lovelies! this week I've been lucky enough to have won a couple of instagram prizes which I'm super pumped about. I'm reviewing a product in which was sent to me in part of that prize pack.

This sponge is soft, not hard like some super cheap sponges you can buy, its not as dense either however it soaks up enough water and actually applies the make up flawlessly. I've tried it with different foundations, contouring, concealers and even powders.

I am obsessed with this sponge so far and will be getting the others to try out in the range as I believe there are four other shapes. $5 isn't a bad price to pay for a sponge like this either, I have read its meant to be a dupe for the actual beauty blender, so I don't think I'll be forking out my money after I have found this baby.

I do feel because its not as dense you need to hold it carefully, otherwise I'd be worried about gauging out pieces of whatever its made from. But other than that my make up glides on so nicely and looks airbrushed. 

Have you tried this?

hugs Jess

Garnier Fructis Goodbye damage split ends hair growth and hair care for afro like hair

Hi lovelies! well today I have a review for two products that I have fallen head over heels for! #sorrynotsorry for that pun haha. I picked up these two in my grocery shopping at Coles Supermarket last week and have been using them religiously. I have very dry, brittle, and damaged hair that is prone to looking dry, almost afro like if I don't do anything with it. My mum is to blame, she is actually aboriginal and has thick, curly hair, and whilst mine isn't curly some days it just doesn't know what it wants to be. I've used hair tools a lot on it, you name it, and am always on the search for my holy grail hair product, I think I've found it.

It was on sale, I always pick things up on sale where possible. I do like natural products however sometimes on my hair, natural just doesn't work. My hair is usually like straw if I don't look after it throughout the week, I wash my hair twice a week using my Organics 2-1 kids shampoo, then I use the leave in conditioner. I also make my own hair masks, currently been loving an egg mask and I believe my hair has been growing because of that. The problem with my hair is, that it grows out thick instead of long. But since using this new regime I've noticed my hair has grown about two inches so I'm pretty excited about that.

First off, the packaging is a bright orange and accented in green so it catches the eye nicely, these two products are in plastic bottles but I don't mind that because I tend to be clumsy and am scared I will drop a glass bottle.

My hair breaks due to dryness and I have found after using this, there has been less breakage, I use it twice a day when needed. I use a drop, rub it in the palms of my hands and run it through my hair to distribute the product.

It's a small bottle that would be great for travelling or putting in your purse or make up bag so you can use it when needed. The heat protecting miraculous oil is a god send to my poor dry hair, it made an instant result with leaving my hair smooth, shiny, and looking less damaged.

I've found you can combat some of the chemicals in your hair by using a mix of natural products and other types of products. I use a gentle sulfate free and paraben free shampoo, and leave in conditioner. This helps my scalp and dryness, whilst this product helps to condition, smooth and treat frizz. Overall I highly advise those who are looking for an affordable way to treat frizz to go buy this product!

Pro's of both products 
Travel friendly
Easy to use, no complicated instructions
Versatile, use it on wet or dry hair
Makes hair shiny

Cost effective
Great packaging
Non greasy
Conditioning and helps split ends
Lovely fruity smell
Perfect for the lazy girl who doesn't want to do too much to her hair

Con's of both products 
Need's reapplication
Organic users might stay away from this as it does contain chemicals
Doesn't smooth totally but it does help manage frizz and split ends


have you guys tried these products?

hugs Jess

Boohoo.com clothing haul and review

Hello all! today I have a very exciting post because I was contacted by the amazing people at boohoo.com to see if I'd review some of their clothing for them! I was sent $40 worth of clothing that I chose, after having fun looking at their website, I've never shopped with an online clothing store before and I gotta say I'm happily surprised.

I chose three pieces, one a skirt, which I haven't worn as yet but will in a later post, a singlet top, and a kimono, the theme was what I can't live without for summer.

I'm happy with how everything fitted, I believe they go by uk sizing, and so that tends to fit me better than most other countries.

The Kimono is a very light weight flowing material, and is a size large, it was on special too on clearance.

I teamed it up with some black shorts, I rarely ware shorts, but the sun was out and I was actually heading to a party so thought why not wear these tonight as its warm enough.

A black beaded necklace, sunglasses finished the outfit, these shorts are almost like legging material and I can't remember where I got them from.

I do love the singlet top being an edgy snakeskin pattern, that was also on clearance for $6 on boohoo.com

Have you bought anything from boohoo? they ship to Australia at a very reasonable cost, and I do think the clothes are quite good quality. I love shopping online for clothes now! 

let me know if you've shopped boohoo before! 

hugs Jess

Models prefer nudes eye shadow collection matte and shimmer first impression and swatches

Hi lovelies, today I'm doing a first impressions on an eye shadow palette I picked up at Priceline yesterday when I was in the city with a friend, heading into Taste of Melbourne. We spent a glorious sunny day eating, shopping and having a fantastic girly day out together. But here are my first thoughts on the Models prefer Eye shadows palette the nudes collection.

We went to three Pricelines whilst in the city, seeing as they were actually all in the areas we were shopping we just stopped in because they were either out of stock of something, or had different stock of other things.

 So I picked up this eye shadow palette  because Priceline had it on sale from $16, down to $12 and I knew these were a limited edition of Model prefer. I was deciding between other palettes but decided this one would suit me best because it has half matte shades and half shimmer shades, so you get 12 of each. Which is a nice idea because I don't think there are other palettes in this price point with the same theme.

 I was actually impressed that it came with an actual decent dual ended brush, most of the time its the crappy foam applicator brush that I generally don't use. Not sure if they are trying to copy Urban decay a little bit here, but either way I'm impressed. The tin also is rather sturdy as well, not flimsy cardboard like most cheap palettes I've seen. And lo and behold it actually has a mirror! and a good one at that! enough with the obvious Jess, get onto the swatches and thoughts about the actual shadows.

 So I was swatching away and thought wow these are actually pretty nice, they feel buttery, smooth and the shimmer one's aren't that powdery at all, they are also actually very pigmented, this top arm swatch is the shimmer and its just one swipe of each colour.

The mattes actually disappointed me a little! some colours seem to work out better than others like with most shades ranging from light to dark. However I'm happy with the quality and it should work better either wet or with a primer. Not bad Models prefer, not bad at all!

have you tried anything from Models prefer?

hugs Jess