The Random Days...

So today was my day off from work for the week (I work as an "All rounder' in a hotel to save some pennies for my next venture) and having had quite the A-hole of a boss previously, I was anxious to meet my new ones. Especially because they were on holiday when I got here and I worked 2 weeks before actually meeting them. 

Today one of my bosses (Owen) offered to take me on his farm. 'Bring some drinks' he said, and I knew I was gonna have a good day. As soon as we got there we saw a snake... my first one in all my time here. Oh my good god I was scared haha. Owen drove on as if it was nothing, he even offered to kill it for me - apprently it's a tiger snake. Then he shown me around the shed where he shears the sheep (which he'll be doing next week, hopefully I'll get to go along and I'll take some pictures). 

Then he got on his tractor and loaded some cottonseed for the sheep into his UTE and off we went. The wheels on the tractor were as big as me, I was so gutted I didn't take my phone to take any pictures with. We scooped handfuls of cottonseed as his Mum drove the ute along and scattered it on the ground for them, we saw the sheep all running for the food and some even ate it out of our hands. We went to the cattle farm part and as part of the cows getting used to being without the calves that were sold, we had to walk them around the paddock (is it called?). It was all really different stuff to what I am used to. It was so lovely and I chatted to Owen for ages, it's really made me feel so much better about being here. When you have one bad boss, it really knocks you for six and makes you think they are all like that, it's so refreshing to learn that it's not the case.

We also saw some Emus, Kangaroos, Pigs, Chickens and a peacock! The Peacock was absoloutely stunning, the colours of it were awe inspiring. Nature is so beautiful (Hippie moment). 

I will definately update you all next week when I shear a sheep (or attempt to) and I just want to say, to anyone reading this - thanks for taking the time out of your day to do so. I know I only have a small amount of followers but everytime I get a new one it's unbelieveable to me that anyone would want to read what I write. So thank you and I hope you all have a great day! xxx

Skincare whilst Travelling (Backpacker beauty shall we call it?)

As a 'backpacker', it goes without saying that, sadly you have limited space for luxuries. Gone are the days where I'd have a cheeky stash of 10 lush bathbombs stored for a rainy day and lots of expensive products in glass jars. Travelling makes you re-evaluate what is important in life in EVERY sense of the word - including what goes in that 20-25kg portable method of storage of yours.

 I started out with about 6/7kgs worth of makeup and toiletries. At the time, I didn't know how I'd survive... with only 3 foundations, 2 concealers, 2 face powders, etc... and the other day I was looking through my makeup bag to discover that I'd unwittingly become THAT girl. Don't get me wrong, when I whack out my makeup bag it's still likely to be more than the average backpacker carries (which is not bloody hard, think moisturiser and SPF), however I now own only one of everything - apart from lipstick, a girl's gotta have a vice, right - How did it get this way? When I lived and worked at home, I had what can only be described as an excessive amount of makeup. To the extent, I could have never used it all without it going out of date. So when I made the decision to up sticks and travel, I gave it all away to my little sister, who is training to be a makeup artist. I figured she'd give it the love that I can't.

Having been here for 10 months, I have had no choice but to delve into the world of Australian cosmetics. Most things about Australian cosmetics make me sad, they are sometimes double the price of the UK, the quality is questionable and higher end products are only available in major cities, which is an absolute pain in the ass, how I miss good ole' Boots! Having said all of this, sometimes you unwittingly find a gem of a product and I am about to go barefaced to express my love for this discovery. Enter... Moisturiser.

Don't let the packaging fool you, it is not prescription only (ha, awful jokes ahoy over here). When I first tried this in a smaller tube, I initially bought it for my hands. I was washing a lot of dishes for work (glamorous life I lead, ya know) and they were sooo goddamn dry. I tried this, it worked, woop. Then, I ran out of my regular moisturiser and was forced to use this stuff. My skin was babysoft and I felt like it looked brighter and healthier, so I carried on using it. Without even noticing, every single one of my zits disappeared. Then I ran out of my little tube and went back and bought my normal neutrogina moisturiser without really thinking about it. Then came back the spots. So I went out last week and bought a big tube of this, in the hope it would sort my face situation out and it really bloody delivered. I don't have a 'before' picture of me with all of my spots, sadly, but i do have a picture 5 days after making the switch to this stuff...

If this picture was better quality (goddamn Iphone camera) you'd be able to see some red patches where the scars are healing from the previous spots but that's about it. A little goes a long long way with this stuff and you can get a huge tub for like $8 (about 5 pounds if it is available in the UK). I am astounded and will be stocking up whenever I head home because I don't even need to wear foundation anymore. A drop of this stuff, a dab of SPF, and concealer and I'm good to go. 

So yeah, the secrets out. It's cheap, readily available and it is a bloody miracle worker (for me at least). 

Have you got any secret miracle worker products?

Love, Sam