♥

Yours truly isn’t the biggest fan of music festivals, despite being a huge fan of music, the crowds, the craziness, the dirt, the heat and the standing for hours on end between bands you don’t-actually-want-to-see all leave me a grumpy mess about an hour in. But when you get to watch the band you came to see, then oh is it worth it.

I’ve long wished there was a way to make the bits I don’t like about festivals disappear… maybe get a massage or facial in between bands? A bit of a spruce up? Well kids this year Big Day Out goers are in luck because they’ve teamed up with the sweet smelling sugar doves at Lush and gone and made this happen!!!

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Think free face masks, massages, cool-down treatments and even bottles of their earthy smelling “Grass” shower gel for the washrooms. Pretty good. Even better is that these pamper sessions are FREE!!

So in between rocking out, jive on down (wrong era?) to the LUSH tent to chill out and get a little wellness into you while waiting for your fave band to play!

Check out www.bigdayout.com for more info on the event and let us know if you’re keen to check to get some festival style pampering!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

If you want to start your year off in the best way possible (and who doesn’t?!) then you’ll be thrilled with our latest competition to win 1 of 3 ultra-luxurious certified organic eye creams from Serenade Organic!

Serenade Organic is a WA owned company, and their products are 100% certified organic, free from toxic chemicals, synthetic ingredients and artificial preservatives. They’re also 100% dreamy!

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The Restore Eye Cream is a nutrient rich blend of nourishing Shea Butter, anti-aging Organic Rosehip Oil and cooling Cucumber Oil, which all work together to help keep the delicate skin around the eye supple, nourished and youthful. It also reduces minimises the appearance of fine lines AND puffiness – does this sound like a wonder product or what?

The other great bonus is that you only need a really small amount, as it’s such a gorgeous product packed full of active ingredients, a teeny bit will still do you wonders!

To celebrate this amazing find, we are giving away 3 pots valued at $54.95 each to you, our devoted readers!

All you have to do to be in it to win it is:

♥ Leave a comment below with why you’d like to win…
♥ And then like Serenade Organic on Facebook, so simple!

Good luck The competition will be drawn on the 30th of January…til then, if you’re keen on checking out Serenade then they have a fab little 10 day travel pamper pack for $29.95 with their three products (all 100% certified organic) which you can get into!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥ POBM Gals ♥

This Sunday just passed was the culmination of months of organising and planning, the result? The first Perth Online Beauty Media event! So what exactly is POBM? Well it’s a group of girls (no guys…yet!) from Perth / WA who blog and write online content related to beauty and wellbeing. There’s plenty of us, and it was high time that we all stepped out from behind our respective computer screens and got together for an afternoon of networking and strengthening of the online beauty media industry in WA.

It was an amazing day, held at the gorgeous Djurra Day Spa in Fremantle, with healthy raw food pizza and sweets provided by The Raw Kitchen and beautifying drinks by Emma & Toms. A host of other generous sponsors supplied items for the goodie bags (links below)!

I’ve decided to share some of the less formal photos, scroll down and check out the behind the scenes action, as well as a whole heap of blog posts from our attendees which go into a bit more detail! Enjoy!

Find out what everyone else though with this amazing array of blog posts below!

♥ Dempeaux – Perth Online Beauty Media #POBM
♥ Amgoorie – Perth Online Beauty Media #POBM & haul post!
♥ Creatures of Commonplace – POBM, way better than CHOGM
♥ Beautifully Glossy – Perth Online Beauty Media Event – POBM!
♥ Don’t you know April Rose? – Perth Online Beauty Media Event
♥ Dont they know who I am? – Perth Online Beauty Media Event – watch us creep out from behind our computers!
♥ Beauty in the Sky – POBM girls are doing it for themselves!
♥ Beauty Down Under – POBM – Perth’s Online Beauty Meet Up
♥ Coveted Canvas – Perth Online Beauty Media Event
♥ Bride in White – POBM

Hope you enjoyed checking them out! Can’t wait for the next event.

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

Merry New Year! 2012 is finally here and there is so much that I’d like to squeeze out of it, so I thought I’d share my goals with you, and I would love to hear your goals as well

Main Goals

♥ Develop my sense of style

When I was younger I had a pretty ‘interesting’ sense of style, I loved (and spent a lot of time) op shopping and putting together crazy outfits and would have a lot of fun wearing them. These days I tend to stick to a play-it-safe combo of jeans, teeshirt & converse shoes which, while comfortable, doesn’t totally showcase my best features or inspire much girly confidence. I plan to develop a killer selection of dresses and skirts that will allow me to try being a bit more feminine and fun with my style

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♥ Learn GHD waves / how to use a hair curler

I’ve never been able to create pretty wavy hair with a heat styling tool, this year I’d love to be able to mix that into my very limited hair styling repertoire!

♥ Work on my posture

Sitting at the computer for long periods of time means my posture needs some work, I plan to do lots of yoga and stretching, plus get regular massages to help keep my back and shoulders nice and relaxed.

♥ Find 2 new pairs of jeans I love

For some reason this is hard for me, I’m going to try and manifest some perfect jeans into my life this year!

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♥ Go on a yoga retreat

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now, head somewhere quiet for the weekend eat delicious wholesome food and practice a lot of yoga. This is the year!

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♥ Learn to swing dance

A few friends of mine swing dance, and they LOVE it! It looks like so much fun and I think taking up dancing again will be fantastic for my wellbeing and fitness.

♥ Be the best in my class at school

Given that I haven’t studied for about 10 years, I’m pretty nervous and incredibly excited about going back to school to study Public Relations. I am however very motivated to do well in the course and I aim to study my derriere off in order to achieve this goal.

♥ Spend time with one friend I haven’t seen for a while each week

This one is pretty self explanatory! I have so many fantastic people in my life, as I’m sure we all do, but sometimes it’s hard to find the time to catch up or easier to spend time with your ‘usual’ friends. This year I’m going to reach out to those I haven’t seen in a while and rekindle some friendship flames.

I have more, but those are the main ones! I would love to hear your goals for the year, or what you think of mine!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

2011 – thank you. You constantly amazed me with the new and unique opportunities and good times that were frequently presented, here’s a tiny rundown of my year:

♥ Took a promotion at work, and from all accounts did pretty good in the new role
♥ Flew to Melbourne with my boy to see ‘The National’ for the first time and ate some amazing vegetarian food
♥ Viewed ‘Jimmy Eat World’ for the first time
♥ Took my first makeup masterclass
♥ Went along to a meditation course (didn’t quite finish it though, but held out for 4 weeks!)
♥ Took floor barre ballet classes for the first time
♥ Started as the Beauty Writer for X-Press magazine & contributor for eVoke magazine
♥ Began seeing a naturopath
♥ Met a lot of incredible people in the Perth beauty & wellness industry
♥ Made the decision to quit my job and return to study next year (!!)
♥ Began to organise the first Perth Online Beauty Media networking event
♥ Completed a 6 week photoshop course (highly recommended!)
♥ Did my first green smoothie demonstration @ Lululemon! Spreading that smoothie love.
♥ Began to overcome a deep seated fear

Tomorrow I’ll share with you my goals for the new year ahead!

I’d love to hear any of your years highlights though, so leave a comment below if you’d like to share!

I wish everyone a wonderful New Years Eve… see you in 2012! x

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! I hope you had an amazing time with family, friends or yourself, and that your wellbeing hasn’t suffered toooo much over the silly season

♥ Outdoor Cinema Picnics

Behold above, a little picnic feast that I took to go and see Crazy, Stupid, Love (Ryan Gosling anyone?) at the Moonlight Cinemas in Kings Park.

It’s such a gorgeous setup, all nature-y and very relaxing, hopefully I can get down there again sometime soon. The picnic feast included: pikelets with preservative free jam, pitted kalamata olives, fruit salad, raw apple juice (the BEST!) and my friend brought along banana bread, water crackers and apricots and cream cheese salad. Love me a healthy feast

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♥ Christmas (and amazing Christmas candles!)

I wish I’d written about this gorgeous festive scented candle prior to Christmas so everyone could have run out and picked one up!

The White Christmas Candle by Palm Beach Collection smells in-cred-ible and I’ve been burning it non-stop since December 1. It’s a soy candle scented with orange, cinnamon and clove, with 80 hours burn-time and is guaranteed to melt the heart of even the most hardened grinch. Pictured above lighting up our $5 tree! The candle retails for $37.95.

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♥ Presents!

While giving presents is better than getting… getting is still pretty good! This Xmas I swooped a lot of awesome goodies, including:

♥ Super-cute brown vegan-leather bag with bow! I’m going to be rocking this hard next year when I go to school, it’s perfect for carrying a few books! From Herbivore Clothing (I don’t think they stock it anymore, but it’s a fantastic website for vegan goods)
♥ The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science – I’ve wanted to read this for a while now, it’s all about neuroplasticity and how the brain can change at any time to overcome previous limitations, such as depression, anxiety, and even strokes.
♥ 12 Month Frankie Magazine Subscription – yay! I will be knowledgeable on all things indie & cute for the next year.
♥ Organic chocolate covered macadamias.
♥ $60 voucher for Bodhi J Day Spa – this will be going towards a much needed massage
♥ Money towards a term worth of yoga classes.
♥ Oil burner + ‘study’ oil which I’ll need for next year!
♥ Some jewellery with stones that are useful for focusing on study. (not pictured)
♥ 2 different caffeine free teas and a really cute floral mug to drink them from!
♥ An Endota ‘Massage Magic’ value pack (thanks Endota!)
♥ A book on smoothies and juices (not pictured)
♥ A copy of Russh magazine (not pictured)
♥ Kit Cosmetics Cheek & Lip Tint (not pictured)

So I think it’s fair to say I cleaned up! Lots of wellness goodies in there too so I’m very pleased I also gave some great gifts which were received with smiles and hugs, which was the best!

What did you get/give for christmas? Share your highlights below!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

It’s time to announce the winners of our super, duper, ultra, mega, giveaway! We have 10 lucky winners who will each be taking home one of two fantastic prize packs, ‘Christmas Tweets‘ or ‘A Few of My Favourite Things‘ from our generous sponsors Lush!

And the lucky winners are…

♥ 1. Alexandra Zhu
♥ 2. Anneke de Rooij
♥ 3. Julie Wakely
♥ 4. Jenny B
♥ 5. Bekah Hocking
♥ 6. Natalie Brewer
♥ 7. Verity Wallace
♥ 8. Hayley White
♥ 9. Maria Adele
♥ 10. Amy Mitchell

Congratulations ladies! I will send you an email soon, please reply within 48 hours to claim your prize

Thank you to everyone who entered, we had a whopping 80 entries and I wish I could give you ALL a prize, but rest assured we’ve got many more fab competitions coming up in the next year, so stay tuned!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

Whales are pretty sweet. They’re beautiful, graceful sea wanderers and can even help us chill out (cue hippie whalesong CD). While Wellness WA is mostly concerned with the wellbeing of people, we also like to take care of our animal friends too. That’s why I wanted to share with you this great little product that Lush have brought out, the ‘Divine Whale‘ soap!

It contains uplifting essential oils of sweet orange and tangerine and all profits are donated to Sea Shepherd’s Operation Divine Wind campaign.

Sea Shepherd Australian Director, Jeff Hansen, says, “During the 1900s, the majority of soap was made from whale blubber, making the launch of Lush’s Divine Whale soap even more significant. Lush’s strict no animal testing policy and its dedication to creating ethical, sustainable cosmetics makes us proud to stand alongside them.”

♥ This ones for you guys x

Divine Whale Soap is just $4.95 (WHAT A BARGAIN!) with all profits donated to the Sea Shepherd Divine Wind campaign. Perfect as a chrissy gift for yourself, an eco-conscious friend and, of course, the whales.

Support some whales now so there will be plenty around in the future! Available online or in-store

What do you think of the Divine Whale soap? Are you keen to get your hands on some? I’m heading out to pick some up during the week!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥ ♥ ♥

We love you, we love you, we love you! To show our appreciation for the love, support, comments, questions and likes over the past year, we’ve teamed up with Lush to make your chrissy extra sweet n gifty.

Lush have an amazing range of limited edition christmas themed treats and glorious gift-packs, ranging from the perfect secret santa present, to the ultimate love inducing goodie boxes.

♥ Christmas Tweets – $24.95

First up, we’ve got 5 x Christmas Tweets packs to give away. The pack includes:

♥ Three Gold Rings bubble bar
♥ Tiny Hands solid hand serum
♥ 60g Snowcake Soap (in a star shape)
♥ Butterball ballistic

Yummy!

♥ A Few of My Favourite Things – $29.50

The second offering under the e-christmas tree is 5 x ‘A Few of My Favourite Things‘ packs! This box includes:

♥ 100g The Jilted Elf shower jelly
♥ 100g Gloog shower gel
♥ 100g Candy Cane soap
♥ 100g Snow Globe soap

How good do both of the prizes look?!! I am in love with both of them.

To WIN one of the 10 prizes on offer, and be the happiest elf this side of the North Pole (or are they unhappy there because they’re working all the time?) all you need to do is:

1. Like Wellness WA on Facebook.
2. Leave a comment below with why you’d like to win!
3. Cross your fingers and give the person closest to you a big hug. (Optional)

The ten best answers will be drawn on the 14th December! Please note that winners will randomly receive one of the above, but they are both fantastic so never fear

Please note that there is no guarantee that the prizes will arrive before the 25th December. We will certainly do our best though!

Best of luck to you all, Merry Christmas, and heres to a brilliant festive season and new year!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

As the heat begins to descend upon us again this week in the West, it seems like the perfect time to start thinking about the numerous ways to keep cool.

Here are a few of my tips, though with my un-airconditioned apartment and ghostly pallor I am certainly on the look out for more:

♥ PILLOWCASES IN THE FREEZER. Unfortunately it only lasts super, super briefly, but it can be a welcome few minutes reprieve.
♥ Staying hydrated. This is a biggie. Your body needs HEAPZ more water in summer. Give it what it wants.
♥ Iced green tea with lemon. Nuff said! There are some pretty snazzy T2 iced tea jugs which I think will be making their way into my already overcrowded fridge this summer.
♥ Fresh chopped fruit, chilled in the fridge for a bit.
♥ FACE MISTS! (once again, chilled in the fridge for bonus cooling points)

Our good friends over at Echolife have just come out with a fancy new range of cooling face mists, which have the added bonus of being either rejuvenating (rose), purifying (tea tree – great for problem skin), clarifying (witch hazel – an excellent toner) or calming (lavender – good for general relaxing + blemishes).

Spray throughout the day to keep cool, or onto freshly cleansed skin to get the extra benefits of the natural ingredients.

This cool feeling could be yours!

We have three Echolife Facial Mists to give away, one Tea Tree, Witch Hazel & Lavender.

To win, simply let us know what your favourite thing about summer is, and which one you’d love to win! (Tip: You can click through the links above to find a more in-depth list of the benefits of each one)

Winners will be drawn on 1st December, the first day of summer, so get cracking!

So much love to everyone!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo