Holly Jolly Christmas tag!

1) Favorite Christmas movie?
- The Grinch of course! I think it is such a classic 
2) Are you on the Naughty list or the Nice list?
- I think, well I hope that i'm on the nice list
3) Show us an embarrassing Christmas Card photo!
- I don't have one. We have never been a family to take Christmas card photos
4) Have you ever had a White Christmas?
- No, I live in Australia so Christmas is in Summer
5) Where do you usually spend your holiday?
- We usually spend the day with both sides of the family, lunch with one and dinner with the other
6) Play or sing your favorite Christmas song!
- I can't actually do either via blog post so I will say some of my favourite songs:
   Winter Wonderland
   Rudolph the red nose reindeer
   Dreaming of a white Christmas
and to kick it back to a classic Australian song; 6 white boomers! 
7) Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve?
- No
8) Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph
9) What holiday tradition are you looking forward to most this year?
Watching Chevy Chase' Christmas vacation with my Dad on Christmas eve
10) Is your Christmas tree real or fake?
- Fake
11) Hands down, what's your all-time favorite holiday food and holiday sweet treat?
- Oooh, I always look forward to the turkey and prawns and my favourite sweet treat would be either a pavlova or a cheesecake
12) Be honest: do you like giving gifts or receiving gifts better?
- I of course love to receive gifts, you would be lying if you aid you didn't. But I do also like giving gifts, it's just not as exciting to me
13) Show us your tackiest Christmas attire!
- I don't actually have any tacky Christmas attire. So my Santa hat? if that counts
14) What would be your dream place to visit for the holiday season?
- My dream holiday destination would be somewhere where it snows. So maybe either America or England
15) Does your family have a special holiday recipe you like to help make?
- My Mum and I make a baked ham each year which is always fun
16) Are you a pro-present wrapper, or do you fail miserably?
- I am a very very good present wrapper! Those edges have to be a clean crisp fold
17) Most memorable Holiday moment?
- When I was really little my brother and I got our very first digital cameras for Christmas, it was the most exciting gift to ever receive! I remember I was so excited to show my Dad that I dropped it on the tiles and it wouldn't turn back on for a while. I was bawling I was so upset, but I never forgot it. And hey, it's funny to look back on
18) What made you realize the truth about Santa?
- I had speculations about it nearing the end of primary school, but in the end it was my brother who told me19) Do you make New Years resolutions? Do you stick to them?
- Yes! New Years resolutions are a must and although I do try to stick to them, it rarely happens
20) What makes the Holidays special for you?
- I just like the 'magic' associated with Christmas every one is so happy and it's fun and exciting to see everyone get into the Christmas spirit 

I now would like to tag all of you to do this, leave a comment below with your answers to these Q's I would love to hear what things you get up to during the holiday season.

Speak soon. xx

How I stopped wearing makeup- and you can too!

I went makeup free thee months ago when I left school, this decision was made honestly out of laziness as I could not be bothered to put makeup on every morning, especially when I had no where to go and it was the best decision I have ever made. I know the idea of putting makeup on even when you were spending the day at home would seem ridiculous to most people, and even to myself now to look back on. I mean why would someone put so much time into making themselves look good if they weren't going anywhere, or seeing anyone? Well, this tends to be a common problem for most women out there. You start to become so reliant on makeup to give you that confidence and to make you feel better that you no longer know how to find it from within yourself. Makeup application and removal becomes just as much of an essential daily task as brushing your teeth. 

Now I would now quickly like to mention my secret weapon in getting the confidence you need to o without makeup: moisturiser.

Yes, I know. Moisturising your skin is common knowledge and everyone does it, right? Well no. Many women and men for that matter do not moisturise their skin often enough if not at all. I was one of those people who never moisturised, I just never saw the point in it and didn't think it would make that much of a difference. But I was very very wrong. The day I stopped wearing makeup was the day that I decided to moisturise every morning and night, and the benefits were beyond what I could believe. I was never one who broke out easily and I never suffered from acne, but I did have redness on my cheeks and the areas around my nose would constantly be dry and flaky. 

The first two weeks of going makeup free and moisturising came with both good benefits and bad breakouts. My skin almost instantly felt softer and looked healthier and was glowing. But as this was a total skin cleanse all of the blockages in my pores were beginning to work their way out of my skin causing me to break out like I never had before. Usually if I 'broke out' it would be on or two pimples that lasted a week maximum but this was all over my face and lasted around two -two and a half weeks. I didn't want this at all, it was embarrassing and I didn't want to use any harsh chemicals on my skin to get rid of them because I felt as though it would contradict what I was trying to do, so I used tea tree oil. I used this twice a day after I had used my moisturiser and let me tell you, tea tree oil is the most effective product I have ever used to remove my pimples. They cleared up so quickly and my face felt fresh.

The first two weeks of my current three months of no makeup was horrific. Aside from the breakouts I was facing I had no confidence to even leave my house, I thought that without makeup I looked gross and that everyone would be looking at me and laughing ( did I really rely on makeup to give me confidence that much? that's crazy!) 

Once I got through the first two weeks my skin cleared up and my confidence came back. I started to think that maybe I didn't look as bad as I thought without makeup, which is true. For all women Makeup is a privilege not a right, if you abuse a privilege it will work in reverse or get taken away. Obviously makeup cannot be taken away, but it can work in reverse. Makeup made my bare face look horrid, it was dry and had no glow in it, it just wasn't healthy and even when I did wear makeup I wore it everyday that it got to the point that it wasn't anymore beneficial to my looks wearing it. Since going makeup free however, my skin is glowing, it is healthy and has cleared up completely, and in all honesty I feel more confident now without makeup than what I ever did wearing makeup! Now on the rare occasion that I do wear makeup I can enjoy the process again.

-- Also, as a side note- during these three months there were of course times that I did wear makeup. However there were times in which I had somewhere important to go, which is fine. I wasn't banning it from my life I just was not wearing it unnecessarily. 

I encourage all of you to go three months without makeup. The first two weeks are the hardest, but once you get past that, not wearing makeup feels so much better than wearing makeup. And remember, my results will not be the same as yours, my two week rule may be the first month for you, but I have complete faith that one month maximum of trouble, that the last two months you will be seeing maximum results.

I would love to see or hear about your results, so leave a comment below telling me how your progress is going.

Also, if you are interested in the moisturiser that I have been using and the cleanser I have been using check out my last blog post for more details: http://samanthamersin.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/favourites-skincare.html

Speak soon, xx

Favourites: Skincare

I usually have trouble with my skin being really dry, or really oily and rough to the touch. However, since I started using these to products together my skin has been absolutely amazing.

I use the Neutrogena naturals: fresh cleansing + makeup remover at night, and use the Simple: kind to the skin hydrating light moisturiser morning and night. 

The cleanser/makeup remover is amazing. I have never had a makeup remover before that works as well as this does, apply to you face and rub in with some water and rinse. That is it. And your skin will definitely thank you for it. It leaves my skin incredibly soft and smooth and for me personally, it even helps with break out prevention. If you do that and add the moisturiser after, your skin will be incredibly thankful to you. My skin has never been softer and more moisturised in my life. The moisturiser is particularly effective for me as my skin has trouble being able to soak in thick or heavy creams, and as this one is so light my skin soaks it up almost instantly. These two products are the reason for the improvement in my skin, if you haven't tried them you are missing out. 

Another great reason to go out and try these products is the fact that they are so cheap. 

The Neautrogena naturals: fresh cleansing + makeup remover  sells for about $17.00AUD

The Simple: kind to skin hydrating light moisturiser  sells for about $ 11.00AUD

and they last a really long time, I have had my cleanser for about 2-3 months and my moisturiser for about 1 month now, and still have a lot of product left in each. This is my essentials for skin care, and I recommend 100% that you go out and try these products.

speak soon. xx

Sun & Relaxation

Okay, I can't be the only one to enjoy kicking back in the sun working on that tan? Well today is perfect weather to do just that. I am currently lying down on the grass, with my dog, a bottle of water and a good book (just started the devil wears Prada, a review will be up when I finish). It is great to have weather this great after a week of having cold, miserable and gloomy days. And to make it even better there is nothing for me to do today, no worries nothing I need to get done, just a day of pure relaxation. As good as this is though, I could definitely go for being somewhere in the tropics right now; perhaps Fiji? but, you have to take what you can get sometimes. And this is what I have, my backyard the smell of fresh grass and the sun on my back.. that sounds pretty good too, huh? Ahh, well I better get back to my book, the quicker I finish the quicker a review is to go up.

speak soon. xx

Favourites: Candle!

I am loving this candle of the moment. Vanilla bean is my favourite candle scent as it can vary, it can be either very sweet and like freshly baked cookies or cake or a very light clean scent. This one is on the lighter scent side, but is equally as delicious. It is perfect for those days that are cooler and you want a scent that will keep you toasty and warm.  Candleworks is my newly found light scented candle, and my favourite that I always purchase is the Ecoya vanilla bean candle which is more like freshly baked cookies and is a lot sweeter. But I had just ran out of that one. 

speak soon. xx

Where have I been!?

I can't believe I haven't posted in what feels like forever. I have recently purchased a canon eos 600d camera (or you may know it as the canon rebel t3i) so the photos on my blog will now be of a significantly higher quality as well as having better quality content on YT. I did film my first video on my camera which was the 25 questions tag. However, I unfortunately lost most of the footage when it came to editing. I will be re-filming that video within the net week hopefully.

But aside from my camera I have been extremely busy and un-able to film or blog so I do deeply apologise for that. It feels good to be blogging again and stay tuned for more updates and favourites from me.speak soon. xx

Weekend ventures.

Whilst I am sitting here in the car at the market, I figured this was a perfect time to blog about my weekend.

I went to the cinemas on friday night to see Annabelle with my dad. -which was a good time for some father daughter bonding I think. The movie was amazing, if you are into horror films then definitely check it out!
Saturday was one full of family packed events. We had a family come over for a cute little morning tea in the garden, in the amazing weather we were given. Then, later in the evening I went over to my uncles house. It is always good spending time with my little cousins I mean, I don't see them a lot. And like always when I get there, we watched horror movies that night. the conjuring and the possession.

Now, as I am writing this I am sitting in the car at the market waiting for my family. -I will definitely be editing this post when I get to a computer though. I want to give you the best quality blogs I can give.

Speak soon. Xx