Skin detox: saying yes to less

Caught without brightening balm? Sans serum? Or stuck overnight without under-eye cream?
Don't panic. A lack of product doesn't always have to be a problem.

By the time that I get through all of these anti-ageing products, I'll be 60

The Lady Awaits...

Put on your Sunday best and get out the fine silver, because the neighbourhood just got classy...

A relaxing ritual

I'm a big fan of oil...Olive oil, fish oil, argan oil - all sorts of oil. But my favourite oil of all time is massage oil.

I keep a bottle of pure, simple sweet almond oil in my beauty cabinet and use it as a facial cleanser, makeup remover, muscle rub and all-over moisturiser. Combined with a few drops of essential oil, it becomes a mini beauty ritual of its own. My favourite scents are:

• Geranium to sooth the nerves;
• Peppermint and lemon for sore muscles;
• Jasmine to feel pretty;
• Lemon to start the day; and
• Lavender and chamomile to end it.

There's something insanely soothing about a DIY facial massage with lavender-scented oil at the end of the day. And as a bonus it takes off makeup and leaves your skin looking and feeling amazing. Now that's good oil.

28 days later

Little pleasures from December/January:

Punch from the Island Bar, Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour. (More to come on that later)

Go-Go bar below Chin Chin, Melbourne City....Does neon ever grow old?!

Home-made Fleur de sel Caramels: recipe from www.nytimes.com/2005/12/21/dining/211mrex.html via Cupcakes & Cashmere blog. Very delicious and recommended!

Above: Christmas puddles. Such torrential rain through the end of December!

Birthday dinner for my brother at the Aylesbury. Start with a drink on the rooftop, then (if you're in a pair) try and sit on the kitchen bench and watch the chefs at work. Magic!

And finally, just for fun:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/25-pictures-of-cats-and-dogs-photobombing-each-oth