My aurora

Just a quick note about the best spa. Ever.

Last Sunday I packed up my tired, stressed-out self for a visit to Aurora day spa in St Kilda. Now, I'm a fan of a relaxing beauty treatment on any day of the week, but this deserves a special mention for all-out awesomeness.

But first, some background: to get us through the winter, me and the lovely M had decided to work our way around the spa baths of Melbourne, Daylesford (and anywhere else that offered us a bit of warmth and relaxation). After discovering that they offered a mineral bath treatment, we made our way to Aurora for some lovin'.

And love it we did. I loved the way that we walked up the stairs to a separate and soothing lounge, changed into comfortable robes and drunk herbal tea in the sunshine before our treatment. I loved the way that my facialist Sara spoke to me in quiet tones about my skin concerns before my treatment. I loved the subtle and unoffensively calming environs. And I loved the way that my skin glowed after my Rose Hydration Express Facial.



Following my treatment I retired to water therapy rooms for a lemon myrtle, green clay and mineral salt bath. When I've had a hard week I can find it difficult - nay, unpleasant - to sit still and sweat in a hot room. But I was kept pleasantly occupied by the exfoliating hand mit which was provided along with the mineral salts. The bath was followed by a shower with Aurora's body wash and moisturiser (very nice!) and a good old sit-down in the lounge again. I had tried to compare notes with M, but words failed me. My mind had gone on holiday. Hallelujah.

It's all good!!

This weekend I went on a relaxing trip to the country with some friends. Between visiting wineries, cooking, reading and sleeping, we happened to start talking about sunscreen.

A bit of background about me and sunscreen: I am a sun protection fanatic. It is absolutely essential for anti-ageing, especially when you use a chemical exfoliant such as AHA or retinol as part of your beauty routine. However, my well-educated friend happened to mention that chemical sunscreens may not be as beneficial as they seem. As far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out on this one (especially since it is a topic covered by the likes of fear-mongering TodayTonight) - however it did make me reconsider my sunscreen choices.

The next day, in what was an exceptional stroke of luck, I happened past an organic supermarket. In my newly-aware (and paranoid?) state, I screeched to a halt and set off looking for a 'healthy' sunscreen. The only one left on the shelf was called 'UV natural sunscreen'. There were no testers, but with the enticing statement of 'it's all good!!' on the packaging, I felt I'd found my product. Sold.

I got it home in an excited flurry and gave it a whirl. It is a pale pinky-white cream with a subtly strange (although not unpleasant smell). Unfragranced is OK with me, so I kept going. I put some on. Thick...Greasy...Hmmm. Not going so well at first blush. But I persevered. It took a little while before I could put on my bronzer (the bristles of my makeup brush were sticking to the sunscreen) but I used the time to do something healthy like morning yoga. By the time I got out of the house the sunscreen had well and truly sunk in and I was feeling ridiculously virtuous. And here is the kicker kids....It didn't become greasy. All day. Once the sunscreen had dried, my skin stayed matte for hours, which is some kind of miracle.

I have gone through many, many sunscreens: the ones with beautiful packaging, amazing claims, and big brand names. However it was the funny little Aussie one that won my heart - and you know that it's good for you to boot.

Here's the lowdown (just so you'll be enticed to go out and find some for yourself):

• Utilises zinc oxide as a physical sunscreen
• Natural ingredients
• Contains lots of great antioxidants like grapeseed oil, natural vitamin E, green tea extract and grape seed extract
• Super moisturising and non-greasy (after a bit of time!)
• A little bit goes a long way

Just for something different...

Half Moon by MelMcK on Polyvore.com

Essie Nail Polish Turquoise & Caicos
14 EUR - shopmrsh.com

dELiAs > clothes > accessories > cosmetics
$4.50 - delias.com

I'm currently loving naked moons...By which I mean that I'm rather taken with the trend of leaving the crescent moon of the nail free of polish. I tried it myself tonight with gunmetal grey polish...Not bad (if I say so myself!) For the tricksters amongst us, the crescent can be painted a contrasting colour - although my skill level isn't there yet. For a mono-coloured project, I found a photo of someone protecting the crescent area prior to painting with those little hole-punch reinforcer stickers...Good idea (however I don't think that I've seen those sticky things since high school). Give it a go kids; impress your friends with you nail-wand expertise :)

Uh-mazing

I've just discovered Lisa Eldridge: total new girl crush. Her makeup tutorials are honest and simple and she's discovered some great products. I love the fun attitude that she brings to the whole process. It's easy to get too serious about buying products, applying makeup and trying looking good. However, Lisa's bright colours and great tips bring it all back down to Earth, without trying too hard. So refreshing. Have a look!

Layer Cake

For the past few years I've been hair modelling for the truly amazing team at Yoshiko hair in St Kilda. They have taken me from short hair to a bob, an undercut and back to long again; from dark to platinum blonde, caramel, strawberry blonde and red. And every time, I find myself getting stopped by complete strangers asking "who does your hair?". Unfortunately I don't always have the time to style the old locks to their best advantage - but even then I think that they still manags to look OK... The cuts are that good people.

I've gradually become used to environment of photo shooots - but it's still a pretty exciting experience. I love being involved in the process of developing a final artwork with some amazingly creative people and watching it build from makeup to amazing clothes, hair (of course!) and photography. Standing under the lights in front of the camera, surrounded by music, observing the process of wrestling every stray lock into place - of creating the perfect image - is pretty cool. I've also been lucky enough to watch some amazing professional models - the way that they move is quite extraordinary. It involves much more hard work than I initially imagined!

Recently, I managed to capture a few behind-the-scenes shots from a hair shoot which Dani (the Director) titled 'Layer Cake'. It was so named on account of the intricately layered splices of caramel, blonde, strawberry and red in through the front of my hair. It sounds quite hideous but the results were beautiful. The cut itself was quite strong and blunt. However as the hair moved the subtle layers of fine colour became accentuated, creating a softer effect. Here's the work in progress:

 Such neat foils!! (...and the process of waiting begins: lots of magazines to read and gossip to catch up on!..)

The shoot itself was fast and simple, focussing primarily on the hair cut and colour for a competition. Dani styled the shoot herself with some strong and jewelry and sleek leather pants. Here are a couple of shots of the final stages, experimenting with a flicked-up look. This is Dani at work:

As you can see, the colour was quite bold but softened beautifully over the weeks: a sign of a good haircut!