Trippin' // Los Angeles

Time for the final instalment in my Trippin' series from my trip to the USA! We end with the city of angels aka Los Angeles. In case you missed them, here are my other travel posts of the Grand Canyon, Colorado and San Francisco. On the whole, LA wasn't my favourite city! It is huge and sprawling and difficult to get around unless you have a car. When you do have a car, traffic is often a nightmare and it's super hard to find parking! Alas, there is definitely a lot to see and I'd like to think I saw a lot of the city, but I know there's probably a bunch of other cool (non-touristy) stuff that I missed out on, but to be completely honest I'm not itching to go back to LA! There are lots of cute shops, and good food places which I probably could've explored more! As a sidenote, In n Out was a total letdown for me! Shake Shack beats it hands down in my opinny. The In n Out fries were super dry and tasteless (even with the animal style stuff, which in itself tasted kinda plasticy?) and the burgers were pretty dry too and just like...Hungry Jacks? Shake Shack on the other hand was sooo delish and moist <3 Anyway - most of this will just be photos so I hope you enjoy!

Santa Monica

Trippin' // San Francisco

It's been a hot minute, but I'm continuing with my Trippin posts from the USA! Today's post is all about the beautiful San Francisco! I think San Francisco was my favourite city that we visited. There was just SO much to do there! It definitely is a tourist hub and we actually arrived the day after Superbowl weekend so everything was still buzzing from the game! San Francisco is definitely a unique city to me, it has the holiday feel of being by the bay, and manages to feel both quaint and super busy and metropolitan at the same time. In the inner city, we managed to get by just by walking and also bought day passes for the cable cars. My dad's cousin also lives nearby and they were kind enough to take us around one day to see most of the sights - which there are a lot of!

Trippin' // Colorado

Time for the second instalment of my USA travel posts! In case you missed my first post, it was all about the Grand Canyon, plus a summary of all the places I went! Today's post documents my couple of days in Colorado - more specifically, we stayed just outside Denver with our family friends. They were super hospitable and graciously took us around. We actually didn't make it into the city, but we did take a bit of a road trip to the Rocky Mountains which was amazing! We stopped by a couple of towns and the surroundings were so picturesque! Even driving on the highway, the view is amazing as it's surrounded by the mountains! I really wish I took more photos but I got a few with the incredible sunset! Most people come to Colorado for the skiing which we didn't have time for (not that I'm much of a skier anyways :P), but you really get the ski feeling in these little holiday towns!

Trippin' // Grand Canyon

I've finally started sorting through my USA photos, which means I can finally start posting some travel posts on ze blog! Yay! I don't think I've properly mentioned where I actually went, but I was away for three weeks and began my trip in Anaheim for two days at Disneyland! We landed in Los Angeles and caught a shuttle to Anaheim. We then went back to LAX to fly to Las Vegas. From Las Vegas, we hired a car to drive to Tusayan, Arizona, a town super close to the Grand Canyon. We stayed there for a couple of nights before driving back to Las Vegas to catch a flight to Denver. We actually stayed just outside Denver with family friends so we didn't actually make it into the city unfortunately! We did drive up to the rocky mountains though which were stunning! From Denver, we flew to San Francisco where we stayed for a few nights. Our trip finally came to a close with our last stop in Los Angeles! Anyway, I'm still sorting through photos and I thought I'd start out with what was probably the highlight of the trip; the Grand Canyon!

What's In My Travel Beauty Bag(s)?

So I leave tomorrow for my three week trip to the US! I feel like I've been waiting forever for this trip to come, and now that it's here, I feel so unprepared! Why must I procrastinate in every aspect of my life?? I'm pretty sure I've never shared with you guys what products I've taken travelling in the past, usually it's nothing exciting, especially makeup wise as I'm never really bothered much in that department! I figured this trip I'd put more effort into my face as I'm going to some big cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Denver!). I tried to pack light, especially considering I'll be buying a WHOLE LOT while I'm there, but I may have overdone it on the skincare... :P My excuse is that my skin is actually pretty good right now and I don't want to mess it up! Plus I'm gone for three weeks so I cant just switch it up for an off week, y'know? Also, ignore the weird lighting in these photos. It was raining pretty heavily today! Plus, my camera decided to start acting up and basically died. Just before my trip of course!! I had to wipe the settings and I have no idea what they were to put it back to what it was lol. Ended up being a bad connection between the lens and the body which a quick clean fixed (for now...). 

Trippin' // An Unexpected Journey

So, as promised, today I'll be sharing a few snaps from my 6 day trip to New Zealand. I went with a few friends to celebrate us graduating high school! I was both nervous and excited as it was the first time I was travelling without my parents! I had to be super organised which was nerve-wracking, I was paranoid the whole time haha (what with my terrible habit of leaving things behind). Luckily my friend's elder sister 'chaperoned' us, so it was good to have somewhat of a guardian, haha! We stayed in two places in New Zealand's North Island; Auckland and Rotorua. I actually have hardly any photos of Auckland, it's just your typical city situation. Very similar to Brisbane actually! We went up the Skytower which is one of the main attractions, and it was pretty cool to get a view of the city by night. You can see a few more pics from the trip over on my Instagram!

One of the attractions we visited in Rotorua was the Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland. Rotorua is known for its thermal springs, boiling mud pools, etc, so visiting a place like this was a must! It was super interesting to learn about the different coloured pools, and thermal springs. The different colours were amazing to see, and all down to the chemicals, for example the bright green is due to the sulphur content.

So steameh

Lady Knox Geyser

Boiling Mud Pools ft. Manuka tree

Of course, pretty much the whole reason we even wanted to go to New Zealand, was because of Hobbiton. We're geeky and proud. Needless to say, we were pretty freakin excited when we finally got there! It's so exciting to know that scenes from the films were actually filmed there, and the actors were actually there at one point. It was totally worth the rather expensive entry/tour/bus price just being able to see the lil' hobbit holes and gallabant around Hobbiton. It was so exciting remembering the scenes from the movie, then seeing the locations, etc in real life! It was also really interesting to learn a bit more about the set itself, and little tidbits that I didn't already know. Gah, it was just amazing. It felt real guys. I wanna live there. Well, technically, it is real because they're all permanent structures. I'll just let the photos do the talking shall I...

"I'm going on an adventure!"

Bag End

Samwise Gamgee's hobbit hole!

Sheepies in a line!

The Green Dragon where I had a ginger beer, mmm.

The last place we went to in Rotorua were the Redwoods. It was a bit rainy that day so not the best conditions, but it was still really beautiful. We went on an hour long walk, though it took longer since we stopped to take photos so often haha! I just have a couple of snaps to share. It was really peaceful having a stroll through the gorgeous natural scenery!

Crystal clear water

So that's just a taste of what I got up to in New Zealand! I hope you guys somewhat enjoyed have a flick through my photos. New Zealand is such a gorgeous country, and so green. It's definitely somewhere I want to return and have a proper trip right around the country. There's just so much to see, and only a hop over the ditch ;)

Haul // There and Back Again

It's time to share all of my acquisitions from New Zealand! I actually didn't buy much at all, we actually didn't go out shopping that much, plus pretty much all of the stores are the same as here in Australia. If you can believe it, makeup is even more expensive over there! Why must people charge such extortionate prices for makeup!? Actually though I didn't make it to an actual "makeup" store, just the supermarket haha. 

I'll share the things I bought duty free first off.

Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector Collection (Travel Exclusive) including 03 Nude Shimmer and 04 Petal Shimmer

These glosses have been raved about by the masses - sheer, balmy and not at all sticky. The "gloss for the non-glossers". I've been wanting to try one for an age and decided to snatch up this travel exclusive which came with 2 shades for $34, RRP $26 each here. The shades aren't exactly my pick of the pack, and from swatches, they look pretty much exactly the same on the lips (they're very sheer). For that reason I think I will pop one in my upcoming giveaway (don't worry, I haven't used them yet!) but I will definitely have a review up of the other!

Benefit Gimme Brow in Medium/Deep

This guy has been on my wishlist for a while, and I was rather surprised to see a Benefit counter at Auckland airport. It cost NZD$35 which albeit only a dollar cheaper, when factoring conversion etc, it is a bit more affordable (at least that's what I'm telling myself). It's essentially a tinted brow gel with fibres in to help brow hairs appear thicker, more defined and hold them in place. I've been using it the past few days and I really like it, but I'm not yet sure if it was completely worth the money. I will update you guys in a review post!

I bought these beauty related products at the spa that we visited in Rotorua.

Puresource Rotorua Thermal Mud with Manuka Honey

I thought this mud mask was pretty cool as it actually contains mud from the thermal springs, which Rotorua is known for. It's supposed to be really amazing for the skin! Unfortunately I didn't go to a mud pool (too expensive!), so I'm living that experience through this mask, haha! It also contains Manuka honey which is also very New Zealand-y, and is supposedly soothing and nourishing to the skin. The couple of times I've used this, I've really liked it! It was $17 so not that expensive at all!

Apicare Sleep Easy Balm

This one was a bit of a whimsy purchase, but I just decided to buy it! It is a New Zealand brand after all... It's essentially a 'balm' (more of a body butter texture IMO) that you massage into your pulse points that helps soothe you, and get you to sleep. I do have trouble sleeping sometimes when my brain just can't shut off. I find this scent soothing and calming and it's quite a relaxing experience just massaging it into my skin! I have used this quite a few times and must say I think it works! It may be a placebo effect, but I do fall asleep quicker (I think) and sleep for longer, without randomly waking up during the night. It was $22 which was a wee bit of a splurge but you get quite a bit of product.

Now obviously I had to pick up some souvies from HOBBITON!! (If you couldn't tell, I'm a mega TLOTR fan). We only had 15 minutes in the gift store (NOT ENOUGGHHH) so I was scrambling to purchase stuff haha, I wish I had more browsing time!

The Treasure of Smaug the Terrible Dwarven Coin #5

Possibly a completely useless purchase, but it's real pretty. It's just a coin thingy but I really like it, and it's a replica made from an ACTUAL MOULD they used for the movie!

Fellowship Leaf magnet

I was hoping they'd have the actual brooch version of this, but the magnet will have to suffice. It's probably easier to display anyway! The leaf is just so dang SYMBOLIC MANN, Fellowship mems :'(

The Lord of the Rings Leather Bookmark

I thought this was pretty dang cool! It's just a bookmark stamped/embossed with the silhouette of the Fellowship.

The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug T-Shirt

The T-shirts were pretty exxy ($30-$50) but my friend spotted the bin of kiddy sized ones which were only $15! It fits me okay, a wee bit tight, but I can deal. I really love the pattern of this one too - it's just a map (sorta like a 2 in 1 deal for me haha ;) ).

So that was my haulage, I hope you enjoyed reading! I will have another post with photos of my trip too. I'm excited to share them :D. 

Trippin' // Vietnam

Hi guys! Today I thought I would share a few snaps from my trip to Vietnam in December. I went for about ten days to Hanoi, Sapa, Ha Long Bay and Ho Chi Minh City. I also went for a few days to Hong Kong but we didn't do too many touristy things since it was my third time going there. I have a couple of posts of my haulage from my trip which you can find here and here.

I first have some photos from Hanoi where we stayed in the Old Quarter of the city.

The traffic is absolutely cray cray in Hanoi, this photo doesn't really showcase it, but it's a nightmare to cross the street! We were absolute tourists and went on a 'cyclo' tour thing (the rickshaw on the right).

There are lots of shops and restaurants on the sides of the streets. The shops are essentially like markets as you can haggle with them. The street food experience was really interesting! A lot of them have the little baby sized tables and stools. The food was really yummy though - and cheap!

Hoan Kiem Lake

We took an overnight train to Sapa (the Victoria Express) which was certainly interesting! I slept for pretty much the whole time because I would have probably gotten motion sick otherwise. It was quite fun though! Sapa is a mountainous town located in the very north of Vietnam. It was quite cold up there and the town overlooks beautiful valleys and mountains. A lot of the time the view was shrouded in fog and mist but it was still very pretty!

Rice Paddies

Cat Cat Waterfall

Zitch Dog x3

We went to Ha Long bay next and went on a cruise (sort of). It was a rather small boat with about 10 double rooms that cruised through the Bay and the limestone islands. We only stayed overnight but it was absolutely amazing! It didn't even feel like I was on a boat, the water was so calm! The food was amazing on the boat and the islands are so beautiful and picturesque. 

One of the floating fishing villages in the Bay

The limestone caves inside one of the islands

Our boat: the "Ginger"

We then flew to Ho Chi Minh City which in comparison to Hanoi is much more westernized and metropolitan. I don't have too many photos of the city itself but we did do a few touristy things like the Cu Chi tunnels and a tour through the Mekong Delta. 

So those are just a few of the photos I took on my that I wanted to share! I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Overall I really enjoyed my trip and it was certainly interesting to see and experience a different culture. My favourite part was definitely Ha Long Bay - it was so pretty and I really enjoyed the whole cruise (but on a smaller scale) experience. I probably wouldn't want to go back to Vietnam anytime soon, but it's definitely somewhere I'm glad to have gone.