♡Chloé Perfume♡

There are a few things that I am addicted to in life: dancing, laughter, jewellery, vegan food, spending time with family and friends, music and perfume.

I have always wanted to try and establish a signature scent and I love it when people smell something lovely and go "this reminded me of you!"

I once was on holiday with a group of family and friends and one of the girls who was there had this beautiful fragrance that I absolutely adored and I just HAD to know what her secret was!

One morning she pulled out a small bottle, sprayed the liquid around herself and placed it back down.

This is where my love affair with Chloé started.

Chloé is a fresh, smooth floral fragrance that evokes sublime powdery rose. The effect is chic, comfortable, and entirely addictive. It is one of those scents my nose just craves.

It has top notes of pink peony, freesia, and lychee embody subtle freshness. At its heart are midnotes of magnolia flower, lily of the valley, and rose rise to sublimated femininity. A base of velvety elegance comes to fruition through cedarwood, amber, and honey.

The bottle itself is also beautiful, the curved and grooved glass reflects femininity and the plated-silver top is embossed with the Chloé mark and a hand-tied ribbon.  The fragrance is feminine in a rather non-traditional, not all-out-girly way. Its accords expertly play against each other and they seduce the audience by being both elegant and daring at the same time and the scent lasts forever!

The fragrance is very versatile, it is intended for everyday use and is more than suitable for becoming someone's unique signature scent - I find it quite sexy as well.

This all being said, there is a downside to my favourite perfume and that is, the bottle. Now I know I just spoke about how beautiful the bottle is and the creators RAVE about it but after a while the metal on the bottle tarnishes, turning a brown kind of colour. The chemical change also changes the colour of the bow, which also seems to appaear dirtier after a few months. If the bottle was completely silver this of course wouldn't happen, so it just comes down to poor manufacturing.

With that in mind, I still love the scent and have continued to buy it. It is my favourite perfume that I have come across after all!

xx

♡Why Are You Vegan?♡

I know it hasn't been very long but through the year and a bit that I've been Vegan many differnet people have had many different questions, some rude and some simply curious. When I was Vegetarian for four years previously many people were curious then too but it escalated when I made the switch.

If you yourself were wondering why I made the decision or were even thinking whether to make the plunge, here are some short questions and answers!

What do you eat?

This question for me, is the hardest to answer. Ask me my top 5 favourite movies and I'll forget every single movie I've watched! I can never remember those kinds of things when put on the spot. To firstly clarify, the things that I don't eat are fish, red meat, white meat, any meat, eggs, dairy, gelatin and anything else that has come from an animal! So many people I have met think that this means I just eat salad which couldn't be further from the truth! I eat burritos and tacos, simply without cheese and with lots of avocado instead, I eat curry, stir fry, pizza either with no cheese or a vegan alternative, pasta, veggie burgers, sushi, soup, falafels, salads and there are also many vegan alternatives these days such as vegan cupcakes and biscuits!

Why are you vegan?

There are many many reasons but the main one is that I am majorly concerned about the way animals are farmed and treated. I believe that it is completely uncessary to use and kill animals because we do not actually need animal products in order to live. I also believe it is wrong to take somethings life for ones own benefit.

Public awareness of what animals go through to be slaughtered or used for their products are becoming more known in the general public which means that it is becoming more difficult for people to deny that these horrible kinds of things are happening. These beautiful and intelligent animals (a baby pig is as smart as a three year old) are actually aware of what is going on around them and are often kept in cramped and filthy conditions where they are unable to move. Some animals even die 'naturally' during all of this because they are forced to grow or produce milk or eggs at a rate that their bodies can not physically handle as they are forced to do it at an unnatural rate. Ten billion animals are slaughtered for human consumption each year, while being vegan saves more than 100 animals a year. Also, no matter what an advertisement will tell you, farmed animals are not protected from cruelty under the law and these animals are fed a diet that is tainted with pesticides and antibiotics.

Being Vegan is also better for the environment, as you reduce your eco-footprint and Vegan diets produce less greenhouse gas emissions. The livestock industry is responsible for approximately 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions which is more than the whole transport sector. Plants also require way less land and water than what is needed to produce your typical Western diet. 

"Plant-based diets only require around one third of the land and water needed to produce a typical Western diet. Farmed animals consume much more protein, water and calories than they produce, so far greater quantities of crops and water are needed to produce animal ‘products’ to feed humans than are needed to feed people direct on a plant-based diet. With water and land becoming scarcer globally, world hunger increasing and the planet’s population rising, it is much more sustainable to eat plant foods direct than use up precious resources feeding farmed animals.

Farming animals and growing their feed also contributes to other environmental problems such as deforestation, water pollution and land degradation." - http://www.vegansociety.com/become-a-vegan/why.aspx

Where do you get your protein?

Firstly, I hate being asked this question personally. Most meat-eaters aren't measuring there consumption of protein and what food has what so why are they all of a sudden concerned about how much protein I get? In actual fact meat is not needed to have a protein rich diet and there are a lot more plants that have more protein in it than any given animal.

In developed countries getting enough protein is not a problem since many plant foods are high in protein such as beans, nuts, seeds and grains. This means that foods such as hummus, pasta, bread, tofu, lentil soup, peanut butter and nut milks all have an amazing amount of protein. I am a prime example of this, I don't eat meat and my protein levels are perfect.

Where do you get your calcium?

You actually get a ridiculously healthy amount of calcium from beans, tofu, soy milk and dark green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and kale.

Also, did you know that the countries that consume the most dairy have the most osteoporosis? The belief that we 'need' dairy makes me feel a bit... ill. Did you know that we didn't consume dairy through evolution? Did you know that humans are the only beings that consume dairy after weaning? Did you know we're the only animals that consume dairy from another animal? (Talk about gross!!).
Eating dairy is fairly new to our species. We've been evolving for millions of years but only consuming dairy for approximately 10,000 years.

Don't you miss eating (insert food here)?
My family are big cheese eaters, so I thought I would MAJORLY miss it. It didn't take long for my body to not want it simply because it didn't need it. Besides, there are vegan alternatives.
When it comes to missing other foods, I don't miss anything. This is either because, again there is a Vegan option or because the thought of consuming something that is the product of another creatures pain is simply not worth the taste on my taste buds.

If you have more questions, feel free to ask and here are some great sites with tons of info!!

http://www.britishmeat.com/49.htm

http://www.veganwolf.com/reasons_to_be_vegan.htm

xx

♡10 Short Steps to Self Care♡

1. If it feels wrong, follow your instinct and don't do it/get out of there

2. Say exactly what you mean, life is too short for "what ifs"

3. Don't be a people pleaser as that way you are not looking after yourself

4. Trust your instincts because pretty much all of the time they will be right

5. Never speak badly about yourself, you're listening

6. Never give up on your dreams

7. Don't be afraid to say yes

8. Don't be afraid to say no

9. Resist the need to always have control

10. Stay away from drama and negativity as much as possible, it will just drag you down

Look after yourself friends!

♡Sugarhigh♡

39. Sugarhigh by billieastrid featuring nine west booties

♡Review: Kate Moss Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick 08♡

Sorry for being MIA again for those who read this! I wasn't feeling excited by my blog for a while and although I wanted to force myself to update this I want this to remain a blog that I don't feel is a chore to update. I haven't been in a big writing mood either as I start uni up again tomorrow and have been using my break to relax and unwind and detach from my degree a bit as well as partying probably more than I should. I promise that I will try to update more regularly, even if it's just a picture or a post from my polyvore which I am absolutely obsessed with by the way!

Now I'm not sure if you know this but I am a massive, I repeat, MASSIVE fan of lipstick. A good lippy can completely change up your outfit or even your mood and the hunt to find the perfect lipstick for particular occasions is a fun one (for me at least). For a while I have been looking for a nice natural lipstick that I can wear when I want to have a bit of colour on my lips while it not taking the attention away from the rest of the make up on my face - I've been looking for one that blends in instead of stands out.

This is when the Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in 08 enters!

It is a lovely natural dusky pink with a hint of mauve and when I describe it to my friends I always say that it's your lip colour but better! It gives your lips an extra va-va-voom! I love that it is versatile as I have worn it both for when I'm out and about during the day and with smokey eyes at night. It has a slight satin finish without it being too shiny which I like as I am not a big fan of shiny lipsticks as I tend to always opt for matte. If you do like it to be a bit shinier putting a layer of lipgloss over the top works wonders.

Since the formula is creamy, smooth and semi-matte it doesn't dry out my lips and although it isn't a moisturising lippy it definitely has staying power. I do wish it would last longer than the couple of hours it does though but that can be hard to find when it comes to natural shades.

Nevertheless, Rimmel's Kate Moss line never fails to dissapoint me and I always find myself coming back for more!! I am now on the hunt for the perfect pinky plum lipstick, wish me luck!

xx

♡OOTD ☆ 1/3/14♡

OOTD ☆ 1/3/14 by billieastrid featuring a purple dress

♡Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies♡

For a long time I've been trying to hunt down the perfect vegan cookie recipe but have failed time after time, instead finding recipes that don't taste like the non vegan versions that I used to eat.

Now, I am super happy to announce that I have found and adjusted the most delicious cookie recipe ever!! this is now my go to cookie recipe. It's chewy and gooey and mmmmmm.

Being the only Vegan in a household means that sometimes my family can be hard to please and convince when it comes to Vegan alternatives but they couldn't tell the difference at all! They certainly didn't last long in my house, I'm lucky I managed to get some pictures!

I put chocolate spread in the middle because I didn't have any chocolate at hand but you can do either or, of course!

I tend to make massive cookies so this made 14 huge ones, or you could make smaller cookies that would then make 28.

You'll need:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, softened
• 1/4 cup unsweetend coconut milk
• 1/4 pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter
• Your favourite chocolate spread or chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line baking trays with baking paper.

2. In a medium sized bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and once it's all combined, set it aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl beat together the sugar, coconut oil, coconut milk, maple syrup, peanut butter and vanilla. Beat until smooth. This mixture should look quite caramel in colour.

4. Add the flour mixture and mix until all combined. Drop heaped spoonfuls of cookie dough onto the prepared trays and make a small indent in the middle. Fill this with the chocolate spread or chocolate and cover with some more cookie dough.

5. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until just golden brown. Don't worry if they still look a bit delicate as once you place the cookies on a cooling rack and let them cool completely they should harden a bit more.

Obviously you can choose to omit the peanut butter and could include choc chips or any kind of nuts. Feel free to experiment and I hope you enjoy!!

xx

♡Male Privilege and Rape Culture♡

Being a young female nearly every day I witness and am occasionally a 'victim' of male privilege. A lot of male friends I have don't necessarily believe that such a thing exists in this day and age but that is simply because they themselves never are negatively effected by it.

To give you a better understanding of what I am talking about, male privilege is saying "I have a boyfriend" being the only thing that stops a man from hitting on you because they have more respect for another man than respect for your lack of interest and rejection. There have been countless amounts of times when I myself go out and have to come up with stories so that a man would leave me alone, this even happens to men that are really nice but they just have this idea that what they want they can have. This has happened to me on numerous occasions as well - a man has become somewhat interested in me and has made out with me without my consent. They did it in not a malicious way and they weren't meaning to be harmful but because they think that it's a 'romantic' thing to do, or, again, because they think they can just get what they want.

There is also the idea of 'cock blocking' - both my friends and I have experienced being called a 'cock block'. We'll be at a bar, pub or club and one of us gets unwelcomed advances from a guy so another one of us steps in to get rid of him, then having them call us a 'cock block'. In actual fact half the time the friend doing the 'cock blocking' was following orders from the friend that the guy is hitting on. When going out we tend to  have two signals for our friends: "I'm into him" and "Help me outta this!!!". The amount of "get me out of here" tactics that women have among their friends should be enough evidence of the fact that rape culture does exist.

I don't want to make this post the length of an essay but just quickly for those who don't know what rape culture is, it is an environment where rape is prevalent and sexual violence against women is normalised and excused in both media and popular culture. This kind of culture is preserved through the use of misogynistic language, objectifying women's bodies and also glamourising sexual violence - this all creates a society that disregards the safety and rights of women. Most women and girls limit their behaviour because of the existence of rape, even unknowingly. Women do this through not walking down certain streets, holding their keys in their hand as a weapon when they walk alone just in case, locking all of their car doors when they get in their care at a parking lot etc and most of this is done without women realising as it has become just a part of their every day routine. This cycle of fear is the legacy of rape culture.

Some examples of rape culture are blaming the victim, triviliasing sexual assault, sexually explicit jokes, tolerance of sexual harassment, publicly scrutinising a victims dress, mental state, motives and history, assuming only promiscuous women get raped, refusing to take rape accusations seriously, assuming that men don't get raped and teaching women how to avoid getting raped instead of teaching men not to rape.

While all of this sounds negative and dark there are ways that you can combat rape culture! You can avoid using language that objectifies or degrades women, think critically about the media's messages about women, men, relationships and violence, speak out if you hear someone else making an offensive joke or triviliasing rape and by defining your own womanhood or manhood, not letting stereotypes shape your actions! These are just a few way that we can change society for the better.

Lots of love,

xx

♡Tattoo Number 2♡

You may not be aware but in July last year I got my first tattoo done on my back (you can read the post here) and just last week I got another one!

Due to the future career that I hope to get I have to be really careful about the placement of the tattoos I have done because it could mean that the places I want to work for won't employ me if they're too visible.

I originally wanted a crescent tattoo just below my elbow crease but since that is way too visible I decided to get it behind my ear, which I think is pretty cute.

I've always wanted to get a moon tattoo and I am so glad I did. The actual tattooing process was so short for this one, as it was about 15 minutes which is really short! Behind the ear doesn't hurt at ALL. Moments after getting this tattoo I got my tragus pierced which hurt a lot more.

For those who don't know the tattoo process, I will tell you briefly about it. What I got was really simple so my tattooist drew it up on the spot. We just made a few alterations to the size of the original drawing before he drew it on transfer paper. He then transferred the design to behind my ear and I had to tell him whether I liked the placement or to change it, luckily I had my friends there with me so they could help tell me whether it was in a good spot or not!
After that was done I lay down and had to hold a part of my ear down so that he could ink over the transferred design that was already there. Once that was done he bandaged it up which I had to leave on for a minimum of four hours. He also gave me a sheet to remind me about the after care of the tattoo.
It has been a week and a half since then and it's already almost completely healed because of its size!
This photo was taken pretty much straight after getting it done as well, it looks fine minus a few red marks from the tattoo gun.
I have got to say that I am really really happy with it!
If you have any questions about tattoos feel free to ask and I will reply on your comment down below.
Do you think you would ever get a tattoo?

xx

♡Online Shopping♡

So... this may or may not have been happening over the last couple of weeks... I am able to admit I have a slight problem...

I have been feeling extremely uninspired with my wardrobe recently which is where my inspiration for everything else comes from so feeling happy in clothing is really important to me and before I knew it I had bought all of this off of Asos and Topshop. I think there's a little bit of an unintentional theme here!

I've linked everything below except for a skirt from Topshop as they no longer sell it but I hope this gives you guys inspiration for your own wardrobe!
Now to play the waiting game...

1. Motel Tiara Tie Back Smock Dress // 2. ASOS Mini Skirt with Scallop Hem // 3. ASOS Longline Waterfall Cardigan // 4. MOTO Pleated Denim Mix Skirt from Topshop // 5. ASOS Skater Dress With Raglan Sleeve In Nepi // 6. Motel Andrea Skirt In Sun Moon Star // 7. ASOS Crop Top with Half Sleeve and Scoop Back // 8. ACDC RAGLAN TEE BY AND FINALLY // 9. ASOS Sun Burst Earrings

What are your favourite online stores?

xx

♡Review: Kate Moss Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick 107♡

It looks like I have some apoligising to do...

I haven't posted on here in a long time and it's not because I didn't want to, I just haven't found the time with Christmas, holidays, the New Year and friends returning from years overseas. I subsequently got tangled up in my own life, which was great! 2014 has been an amazing year for me so far, I hope these first two weeks are a sign for the year ahead. Also, Happy New Year to all of you who read this!

In these weeks I have also been doing a fair amount of shopping and want to share with you guys my lipstick of all lipsticks - Kate Moss Rimmel Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick.

I've always seen these lipsticks around but due to the fairly cheap price ($8.95 in Australia) which I thought reflected the quality, I never paid too much attention to it. For Christmas I then got a Pricleine gift voucher, a drugstore here, and on a whim bought one of the lipsticks and I am in love! I even love it more than my MAC lipsticks as it lasts longer.

I bought number 107, which is a deep wine/plum shade with red undertones. It adds warmth to the face and although this is a great lipstick to wear in the cooler months I have been wearing it nonstop and it's summer over here.

It lasts throughout the day with barely any touch ups, even after eating and drinking. The matte look of the lipstick looks really beautiful in the berry shade, as it gives a bold lip without being as over the top as a high shine lip colour and is great if you don't feel confident enough to wear a bright red or hot pink lip. 

It also has a beautiful scent to it - almost like a beautiful basket of berries. After discussing this lipstick with friends who also own a Kate Moss lipstick but in different colours, they apparently all have their own unique scent which I think is really special! 

I can't wait to buy more of these lippys! 

Have any of you tried these lipsticks? Are there any shades you reccomend?

xx