Hauling! Dotti

So uh, I had a particularly difficult day at work on Friday, where my boss has recently been instructed to lay off some staff... only half of my team. Friday was the day where the individuals found out if they were staying or leaving and it was horrible. Some people did have the incredibly lack of empathy to take it out on me. I have truthfully never cried so many times in one day. Pull myself together to get my job done, only for one cruel word or look to make me fall apart again.
But moving on, this too shall pass etc. etc. That is not the focus of this post, only the occurrence that triggered this haul!
What else did I do to make myself feel better but go shopping?
Now Dotti have been moving on up in my eyes recently, their ranges have been great and full of both staples and great little fashion updaters for a fantastic price. I've been finding that I can't go in there without finding something that I want to make mine. Here's what I picked up yesterday!

Stripe Peplum zip back top 

Peplums are everywhere at the moment, it was like "pop!"  and every store suddenly had them about two months ago, personally I adore them, and I'm surprised they didn't take off about three years ago when a lot of dresses had them. Why did no one think to bring out some in a top style then?? These are great for hiding food babies, my advice if you're unsure is to balance the look out with a pair of skinnies, and wear with a cute upstyle and bright lippy.

Brooklyn Collar Shift 

This dress is amazingly versatile, and certainly something I recommend for everyone else to snap up. Why? the shape is completely classic. A black shell that can be accessorised so many ways. And the absolute kicker? The collar is both reversible and removable. The other side is black velvet, but you know what? The crafty girls out there (or those with crafty mothers, ha!) could easily use the collar as a template to make whatever kind of collar they choose! Highly recommend, like I said, you should buy this dress.
Those who aren't fond of collars could also use it to pair with bold accessories, An arm party of bangles, a statement necklace, Breakfast at Tiffany's Glasses. the list goes on.

Paper Bag Pant

Now, these trousers are something that I can look at and think "These will not look good on me." Wrong, wrong wrong. Never limit yourself just because you don't think it will work, you can find a way to make most things work, trust me. These trousers turned out to be incredibly flattering, Black is slimming for this odd shape, and they are a great canvas for your best shoes. If you see them, try them, and hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Grosgrain Tie Knit Coat

Lastly I bought this gorgeous coat, after realising that I have been through this entire winter without buying myself a new one, I love the rounded collar and the unusual tie up front. the shape is loose which is something I wouldn't normally go for, but it will work great with all my flarey skirts I have and skinnies too. Navy is a great colour to have too and it will go with warm and cool outfit palettes.

Source: Dotti.com.au

Remove ink stains from clothing

We've all done it, left a pen in our clothes pockets and then put it in the wash, or haphazardly drawn a line on our sleeve, what is great about it is how easy it is to remove most pen inks.
The trick is hairspray!
By no means do I suggest you now run and go all Picasso on pieces of your wardrobe just to test this out, but if you're struggling to get the stain out next time, or haven't even tried anything else yet, grab a can and spray it on the offending ink, You need to pretty much drown it, and it should actually fade on the spot. Then chuck it into the wash to get rid of that crispy hairspray! Wash, dry, iron as normal afterwards but if it has worked, you will know before you even put it in the wash.

Do you know any super effective but random stain removal tips? We all like looking after our clothes after all!

Bought! Bento Lunch kit

So it may come as a surprise to some readers that I am fascinated by Japan. I may not be obsessed like I used to be in my teenage years but I still harbour a real soft spot, Ironic since I've never been, but that's what we have the internet to be thankful for. I can find out so much, see so much, and BUY so much more then I ever could 10 years ago!
Bento is a traditional lunch style in Japan, consisting of compact home made meals. think of it as a Rice based (but not always rice based) lunch box and you're on your way there. You may have seen them in your local sushi store, those gorgeously presented flat meals in trays. Mega healthy normally too.
So playing in with my occasionally kitschy nature I spotted this cute as a button set on eBay and quickly snapped it up. Bright pink of course with a kitty theme, my inner twelve year old is exploding. The cute kitty ears that pop up when the bag is tied? Too good!

I plan on using it to tote around lunches that are good to eat either cold or at room temperature, I bought this from the seller littlejapanmama but as I only just bought it today I can't recommend her just yet. (I'll update!)

Product review: Mascara guard

This is one of those cool little gadgets that they come up with in Asia to make your life simpler. an all in one tool that you use to stop your mascara going all over your eyelids during application (both top and bottom lashes) and then a comb to separate lashes afterwards. It might seem like a silly product, but when you can buy then for less ten $5, who is really complaining?
Here is what it looks like.

I have to admit that it did seem like a superfluous tool to me at the start, but I've come to love it, especially for lower lash application. To use it you gently nestle the tool up against the skin you're trying to 'guard' and paint away.

Also a tip for those who are new to it - don't try and use it for the first time during a busy morning where you don't have time for mistakes, I wound up stabbing myself in the eye with my mascara, and completely ruining the make up job I had already done! And I leave mascara for last ...

You can pick one of these up really easily from eBay by typing in "Mascara guard" I bought mine from the guys here (they sell a lot of bathroom and beauty stuff)

Do you guys have any quirky make up tools that you swear by? I want to hear about it!

Loving this week: Spin Pins

So I chopped off a huge chunk of my hair last week, and I am sad. I've spent years growing my hair but the damage was just too much to deal with anymore.
But I've been playing with new hairstyles, (the fun part of a new haircut!) I found that Gibson tucks are adorable, but kept becoming too loose and messy, needing a few readjustments a day, so a friend of mine pointed me in the direction of Spin Pins.
WTF is a statement I am expecting from a lot of readers at the moment, check these out.

These pins once inserted in your hair are not going anywhere! Your style will also last longer and stay pulled together. Easy to use, all you do is hold you hair in place with one hand, and rotate the pin into place with the other. You can use them with numerous up styles, practically anything that you would use normal pins to hold a bun like structure in place.
My advice is to look up Spin Pins on your local eBay site, as the 'authentic' ones are ridiculous in their price, when all they are is a small piece of wire.