Lovely Sarah.

♥ First up, briefly tell us a little bit about yourself!

I spend most of my days working with independent artists at Performing Lines WA doing all kinds of things – directing photoshoots, editing grant applications, organising press, marketing shows, designing flyers, managing events and documenting lots of creative developments or artworks. I also just curated my first major show at PICA last year called Rounds and co-published a book.

I really love cooking and spending time at local farmers markets. I just started a website called Organic Hunter that documents recipes, produce, cafes, markets, juicing and general thoughts about everything organic in Western Australia.

I can also fold my thumb behind my index finger.

Trilogy Cream Cleanser – RRP $36.95

♥ Tell us about your daily beauty routine.

I have a very simple routine. I wash my face with water, or if I can be bothered, Trilogy Cream Cleanser followed by Trilogy moisturiser. I use Trilogy body wash daily and depending on my mood, I might use Australian Bush Flower Woman Essence. If I go to the beach I’ll use Wotnot 30+ organic sunscreen.

♥ What’s the one beauty treatment you can’t live without? And your favourite place to have it done?

Because I work in an office during the week I am starting to get some serious back and neck problems. I just started getting regular deep tissue / remedial massages by my friend Nisha Ariyaratne who is studying Mind-Body Medicine at the Life Academy. Nisha uses Native West Australian Flower Essences instead of oils, which work vibrationally to help move stress and blockages. She is the best!

Aveda Blue Oil Balancing Concentrate.

♥ Who do you trust with your hair in Perth, and why?

Rory at emm Aveda Concept Salon. emm salon only uses Aveda products, a company who live by organic and plant-based ingredients. They also start the session by offering a free de-stress massage using Aveda’s Blue Oil Balancing Concentrate which has this amazing ability to calm your mind and body. Powerful stuff.

♥ Favourite budget / at home beauty treatment? 

Delicious honeyface – cleansing scrub and then Elixir raw jarrah honey facemask.

♥ Your three, absolutely cannot live without, favourite products? 

1. Trilogy body wash
2. Biologika Lemon Kiss Deodorant
3. Aveda’s Blue Oil Balancing Concentrate (unavailable to buy online, but you can find it at any Aveda Salon.)

Delicious lookin’ juices made by Sarah.

♥ Do you have any secret tips you use to keep looking / feeling great?

I exercise daily, even if it’s walking an hour to and from work. I juice like crazy because it makes me feel like gold in the morning. I don’t eat red meat or poultry and I tend to only eat organic food. I drink lots of water, I sleep at least 8 hours a day and I don’t wear makeup.

♥ What beauty treatment/ wellbeing activity would you love to try but haven’t yet? (Due to time, money, scared etc!)

Shiatsu massage.

Salad & juice made by Sarah.

♥ Describe a typical day of eating for you.

I grew up with a family full of foodies so I tend to base my day around cooking and eating. I probably spend more time than your average person preparing food everyday because I only like to eat organic produce. My most typical day consists of…

Morning – Freshly squeezed vegetable & fruit juice (I use an OSCAR VitalMax juicer), eggs and soldiers (still as good as when you were a child).
Morning tea – Coffee (from Lowdown) & fruit salad (always with raspberries)
Lunch – I usually make a salad in the morning or take left over’s from dinner. The past two days I have eaten a salad with: Greens, sprouts, grilled carrots + zucchini + eggplant, toasted pine nuts, goats cheese, balsamic dressing
Afternoon Tea – Fruit and usually some kind of cake or dark chocolate (because I crave sugar all the time)
Dinner – Fish with some kind of salad concoction.

♥ Describe your fitness routine.

Walking an hour a day. Or if I make it to the gym I will ride for 15 minutes, go on the cross trainer for 30 minutes, and do 10 minutes weights and 10 minutes stretching.

♥ Do you take part in any alternative therapies or take supplements? If so, discuss.

Not anything on a daily basis. I might use tissue salts or flower essences.

Augusta.

♥ How do you like to relax? What are your favourite ways to de-stress?

If I can – I will go straight down south to Augusta and walk in the bush or swim lots. If not – massage or watch classic TV series which don’t make me think too hard.

Thanks Sarah, check out Organic Hunter for more chemical free love.

Be well,

xoxo

♥

Hello ma petits! Welcome to another edition of Beauty & Wellbeing Crushes!!! This is going to become a regular feature, because I love to bang on about the healthy and pretty things that are keeping me rockin’ in the free world and there is the slight possibility that you may also be interested! Win-win!

Why don’t we start with my number one current crush? Ok!

1. Ltd Edn “From Paris, With Love” Seasonal Nail Duo from Mecca Cosmetica.

I fell in love with this as soon as I saw it online,
I knew it had to be mine!
I thought it’d make my nails look damn fine.

Alright, average poems aside, this is great. I’m a little bit late on the boat with this one as I believe it was meant to be a Valentine’s day thing (Paris, love, you know the story!) but that didn’t stop me from painting my nails as soon as it arrived post-Valentines.

To me, my fingertips look more like they are channeling Provence more than Paris. The deep, yet pastelly blue gives rise to the feeling that a lavender plant could sprout from my fingertips at any moment!

The packaging when ordering online is gorgeous, arriving at my doorstep tied with a beautiful thick burgundy ribbon (scuse the mess and ‘justgothomefromwork’ camera avoidance).

The red is also a great colour and has been hanging out nicely on my toes. This pack is a good treat or gift for someone special who loves polish or needs a pick-me-up!

It’s available in-store at Mecca Cosmetica, or online, whichever you fancy.

2. Indigo Grinds – Caesars Grind.

My friend from work (and swell singer) Sian, got me onto this stuff after talking about how she liked to sprinkle / grind some onto avocado on toast. The one she uses is ‘Buddha Brew’, and there is a whole variety in the range as you can see from the above image, but the one I decided to go for was the ‘Caesars Grind’ which has: sea salt, garlic, onion, tomato, parsley and thyme.

This stuff is DELICIOUS on avo + toast and sprinkled onto roast tatoes, which is all I’ve used it for so far. You can also use it in pasta, salads, soups, sandwiches, meat (if you so wish!)… pretty much anywhere.

Unfortunately I can’t seem to get the image of Julias Caesar doing the bump & grind out of my head whenever I use this, but that’s a small price to pay for this new found tastiness.

I paid $5.70 at the Subiaco Markets or you can contact Indigo Grinds to find other stockists.

♥

3. Presence de Bach Parfum by Le Fleurs de Bach.

I was recently sent a couple of samples of Le Fleurs de Bach from awesome Perth website Bathing Beauty Organic Apothecary (check them out!). Most of us will have at least heard of Bach flower remedies, or even Rescue Remedy which just so happens to be in our first aid kit where I work!

Dr Bach was a well known physician, bacteriologist (sexy), homeopath and researcher of his time. Through his studies, Dr Bach discovered that our negative mindsets could indeed cause the onset of illness. Intent on finding a cure for the causes of illness, rather than the symptoms, he identified 38 flower remedies to help rebalance the 38 negative mindsets he identified. The flower remedies rebalance by gently kick-starting the positive emotions, and bringing them out of hiding.

Le Fleurs de Bach follow his production methods to a ‘t’. The result is some pretty phenomenal smelling scents, my favourite being ‘Presence(s)’.

Excerpt…

“The uplifting, fresh and relaxing scent of Présence(s) de Bach promotes feelings of inner reconciliation and improved communication with those around you. You will enjoy a renewed and positive outlook on your environment, leading to calm and inner peace.”

And I really do feel that it is relaxing! I love giving it a sniff throughout the day, I’m not sure if my communication with others is improved (you’d have to ask them!) but I do know that I love the smell so that’s good enough for me – anything else is a bonus! 🙂

You can grab it online at Bathing Beauty Organic Apothecary (available exclusively through them!)

That’s my pick for this week lovely folk, let me know if you have any questions or comments about the above, and hopefully you’ve found something new that you might like to try!

What beauty and health crushes do you have at the moment? Share the love!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

Me with ma veggies.

Welcome to the best thing ever for people who want a very easy way to be a LOT healthier! I don’t know about you, but as much as I love going to the supermarket, I feel overwhelmed when I walk into the fresh fruit and veggie section. What should I get? What am I going to need this week? Which is freshest? How many chemicals have been sprayed onto these? Are common questions that attack me…

$45 boxes of organic fruit n veg from Organic n Green (based in Wanneroo) solve all my woes:

1. They deliver! $45 + delivery fee.

2. It’s kinda like your Mum has come round and said “Here dear, this is what is good for you that you should be eating this week”, so I then plan meals accordingly without having to deliberate over what to get at the shops.

3. We’ve ordered three times so far and the variety is huge! They pick the best, freshest stuff each day and send it off to you in a reusable foam box with frozen cooler bottle.

4. Certified organic! No pesticides & chemicals entering your body.

5. Great value. in the last box we got 43 pieces of fruit n veg, which works out to be a little under $1.50 per item. Considering that some of the items are big sweet potatoes, half a pineapple, avocadoes, and bunches of asparagus, this is awesome!

6. With each order, the value just keeps becoming more apparent. The 2nd order we received 48 items, and the most recent was 52! Excellent! Naturally there will be variation depending on what’s been supplied, but I really feel like it’s 300% worth it.

7. You can let them know what stuff you’re not so keen on, and they take it into account when creating your box o goodies.

Veggie box day is better than Christmas for me, I’m a huge dork so I get really excited when opening the carton and seeing what goodies will be entering my world that week.

Photo by Organic n Green.

Here’s what I’ve received in the three orders undertaken:

♥ Numero Uno ♥ 6 x Silverbeet stalks, 1/2 white cabbage, head of broccoli, 3 x onions, 2 x zucchini, 1 x garlic, 4 x ‘real looking’ carrots, 2 x asparagus bunches, 2 x avocados, 5 x tomatoes (roma + regular), 2 x sweet potato, 3 x kiwi fruit, 2 x mangoes, 2 x bananas, 4 x plums, 1/2 a pineapple.

♥ Two ♥ 1/2 red cabbage, 1 x bag mixed lettuces, 2 x corns, 3 x tomatoes, 3 x small cucumbers, 2 x onions, 4 x carrots, 4 x potatoes, 1 x broccoli, 1 x red capsicum, 3 x beetroot, small bag of green beans, 2 x avocados, 2 x peaches, 2 x kiwi fruit, 4 x plums, 3 x apricots, 2 x mangoes, 2 x oranges.

♥ Three ♥ Bag of baby spinach, 2 x Nashi pears, 2 x plums, 2 x bananas, 1/2 white cabbage, 1 x broccoli, 3 x apples, 5 x tomatoes, 1 x green capsicum, 1 x 250gm strawberries, 1 x mango, 3 x baby eggplants, 1 x zucchini, 1 x large ginger, 1 x large corn, small bag of green beans, 2 x kiwi fruit, 7 x baby carrots, 3 x beetroots, 7 x potatoes, 1 x sweet potato, 5 x onions, 2 x garlic.

PHEW!!!!

Organic n Green also provide a large variety of other organic produce.

This, along with personal training, yoga, massage and a good nights sleep, is one of my TOP TOP TOP tips for making yourself feel great and boosting your wellbeing.

I can’t rave about it highly enough, I’m a very happy customer! I will be trialling other organic fruit and vegetable box providers in Perth so that I can do a ‘comparative study’ 😉 and figure out the best one, but for now I’m loving these guys, their customer service is lovely to boot.

Organic n Green is owned by Tony and Alicia Lopez.

Contact: 0416 02 82 92
E-mail: sales@organicngreen.com.au

Be well,

xoxo

♥ ♥

I’m sure you’ve heard about chia seeds (or the more sexy sounding scientific name Salvia Hispanica) by now! If you haven’t, they have been taking the world by storm for the past few years with their incredible nutritional profile, essential fats, protein, minerals, vitamins and fiber.

Here are a few fun facts about chia seeds:

♥ Contains the highest known plant concentrations of omega-3
♥ Great source of both soluble & insoluble fiber
♥ A complete vegan protein
♥ Three times more iron than spinach, four times more antioxidants than blueberries, seven times more vitamin c than oranges! (source)
♥ On their own they are really crunchy (and get stuck in your teeth!) but if you leave them in water for 10 minutes, they swell to form a gel like substance so can be used in dry food preparation as well as liquids, like smoothies.
♥ In 28 gms of chia you can find: 9% of the Daily Value for protein, 42% dietary fiber, high amounts of the essential minerals, phosphorus and manganese, moderate calcium content, and trace levels of potassium and sodium (source, Wikipedia)
♥ Can you say, chia pet? These cute little guys are made from chia seeds too!

♥ I want this chia puppy!

So today I was sent an e-mail asking where you can purchase chia seeds in Perth, and I wanted to let everyone know that it is REALLY, REALLY easy!

Chia seeds have become so popular now that I’ve seen them frequently in Coles, Woolworths and IGA’s (in the health aisle), as well as your more traditional outlets – health shops.

If you’re looking for organic chia seeds I’d suggest trying Manna Wholefoods or Mt Lawley Wholefoods, but if you’re just after garden variety chia then a trip down to your local supermarket should prove successful 🙂

Chia porridge

My personal trainer, Sarah, sprinkles chia seeds on porridge for breaky, which is one really easy way to incorporate these little nutrient gems into your diet.

Stuart Watkins, my personal meditation / yoga trainer, as well as Emma from The Raw Kitchen are big chia fans as well. These three are some of the healthiest people I know!

Hope I’ve helped some of you out 🙂

Have you tried chia seeds before?

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

Wella Shine Define Shampoo ($32) & Colour Save Conditioner ($32)!

♥ Despite my hair being in shocking condition at the moment (hello frequent GHD, and no haircut for 7 months…!) the new Wella System Professionals range, relaunching in February, is currently injecting some life and love back into my sad strands.

The Shine Define Shampoo in particular impressed me. It lathers up and disperses through the hair REALLY well, it was honestly the first time that I’ve felt like I was achieving an in-salon experience at home. I’m also using the Colour Save Conditioner and my hair is loving the combo. My hair is shiny, swishy and feels great – which is not always the case for me!

Repeated uses has confirmed that these are great for my normal-combination hair with damage, my hair is actually behaving, and I’ve been raving about it to my workmates.

The Wella SP range is only available in salon, you can call 1300 889 886 for your nearest salon!

Pretty much my favourite thing at the moment!! (dorky photos ahoy)

♥ Organic n Green Fruit and Veggie Boxes

My boyfriend and I have been ordering boxes of organic fruit and veggies lately, and it’s AMAZING! The taste, variety, cost and time saving / stress reducing-ness of these boxes of joy is amazing.

It’s also SO MUCH FUN when the box comes… it’s like Christmas because they send different goodies EVERYTIME!

There’s another proper article on it coming soon, but it is my giant crush right now!!!

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser – $78

♥ At $78, this isn’t a cheapie, but I have found myself using it, loving it, running out, trying other tinted moisturisers with average results, and ultimately coming back to this great little glow-getter.

The porcelain shade is perfect for my notoriously difficult skin colour (very fair, with freckles, yellow undertone) and it just makes me glow without looking greasy.

Often I’ll wear it on it’s own when my skin is having a good day, otherwise I mix a bit into my regular foundation (Bobbi Brown). It’s like healthy skin in a bottle and I lurve lurve lurve it and have been using it for years now.

Get it online at Adore Beauty or in store at David Jones.

What do you think of my current crushes? Are any of them a crush for you too?

Be well,

Annette

xoxo