For most beauty junkies, overflowing bathroom drawers just come with the territory. While we like to think of it as organised chaos, most of the time it’s simply chaos. Make rummaging for products a thing of the past with our smarter way to shelve, store and show off your beauty buys.

Lipsticks
For lip gloss, lipstick and balms of any description, store your pout products in boxes. It’s that easy. If pure function isn’t your flavour, an old jewellery box or vintage tin will disguise organisation with style. However, clear, stackable containers are a godsend. Not only will they help you come morning but seeing your products will remind you of any old favourites. It might even spur a beauty change up!

Pencils
Eye pencils and lip liners always go M.I.A in a product packed draw. As length and width tend to vary, keeping your pencils in an open glass tumbler is not only be très clever but seriously chic. A dash of colour from bright glass tumblers will look amazing in an all white bathroom. On a side note, it’s also a cute way to keep your toothbrush.

Brushes, tubes and the like
So many products and so little space? If you have room on the vanity, keep all skin care tubes, brushes and similar sized products upright in a jar next to your pencils. If not, embrace those clear, acrylic draws again. With their space saving, accessible compartments, it makes storing your beauty a breeze. Storage companies like Howard’s Storage World and The Makeup Box Shop are our tried and true picks.

Cotton buds, balls and cloths
We tend to use our soft and spongy tools on a daily basis, so it makes sense to keep them at arm’s length. Do away with the supermarket packaging and store all your fluffy bits and bobs in display worthy containers like vintage preserving jars.

Now that’s sorted, we think you deserve a pat on the back for being so darn organised and maybe a new lip gloss to celebrate.

Your gym membership is lapsing, it’s getting harder to resist that extra piece (read block) of chocolate and all you want to do is stay in bed. When it’s cold, dark and downright drab outside, it’s tempting to put healthy eating and your running shoes into hibernation. Thankfully we spoke to “The Healthy Chef”, Teresa Cutter about her food philosophy, favourite winter meals and the best tips to keep you motivated during the chilly months…

Explain your food philosophy?
Keep it fresh and keep it simple. Cook for health as well as taste and be kind to yourself.

What are the current food staples in your pantry right now?
Kale, Fuji apples, organic pasture raised eggs, biodynamic natural yoghurt, fresh walnuts, macadamias and cold pressed olive oil.

Organic produce is everywhere in your cooking. Why do you choose organic?
It’s important to know where you’re food has come from and treat it with the love and respect it deserves. This doesn’t always mean it needs to be organic but rather ethically produced, honest and clean.

What is your favourite no-fuss meal?
My favourite no-fuss meal of the moment is my Bubble and Squeak recipe using a beautiful organic fried egg. I love this meal as it is so simple and quick and utilizes some beautiful, nutritious produce.

What foods are you obsessed with at the moment?
Cultured foods — I have just finished making a delicious batch of kefir. Cultured foods are packed full of gut nurturing probiotics, which help to restore and maintain healthy digestive function and boost immunity, the perfect preparation to help prevent the winter sniffles.

If you’re craving something sweet, what healthy alternative do you have on hand?
My advice is to keep it natural. Great healthy sweet alternatives include raw nuts and goji berries, fuji apples or I mix my Healthy Chef Pure Protein and Healthy Chef Organic Superfood into water for a quick pick me up.

Exercise is also very important to you, what does your regime consist of?
I love to vary the activity I do and love cycling and walking. I’m a little kinder to myself these days and listen to my body and how it feels, which determines the activity I do. Walking supports health in every sense physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and it just makes you feel good. I use it to meditate, de-stress and set myself up for the day ahead.

What’s next for The Healthy Chef?
It’s been a busy year already! We launched the Healthy Chef functional food range, which includes our Organic Pea protein, Pure Native WPI and Organic Superfood blend. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with many people sharing our philosophy for simple and natural products. There are a few exciting projects in the pipeline to expand on this range, so watch this space!

All images supplied by The Healthy Chef, Teresa Cutter. 

While the new season may be a little chilly, it does provide a fabulous opportunity to update your post summer locks. We spoke to acclaimed hair stylist Wayne Lewis of Original A Salon and colour director of Original Mineral about this seasons biggest hair trends, so you stay hot in the cooler months…

What are the big colour trends?
This season we’re noticing a lot of pastel tones being incorporated into hair colour. We’re seeing brunettes with violet and mauve tones coming through and cool gold, silver, red and bronze highlights woven into blonde and red hair.

What hairstyles are trending this season?
The bob is definitely back. Textured styles seen on Karlie Kloss and Brooklyn Decker are very now, as well as Anna Wintour’s strong, classic shape. As far as long hair goes, it’s all about volume and length. We’re finding natural looking hair extensions like WASP extensions a very popular at the moment.

The big question on everybody’s lips…is balayage over?
Balayage is now more subtle and blended through, instead of having three or four different colour variants. The trend now is a slight shimmer of colour on the end and a deep colour from the root area.

What style are you looking forward to seeing? 
This winter I want to see lots of hair that is very thick and luxurious. I think it’s time to move away from wispy, thin styles.

Who is your celebrity hair crush right now?
Gwyneth Paltrow is looking amazing with her platinum blonde locks that have a certain thickness and solid structure to it. Carey Mulligan’s pastel blonde hair with lavender tones is really fresh, and I love ‘It’ girl Jennifer Lawrence’s new solid hue.

Is there a trend you never want to see again?
It’s not about not seeing hair trends again but more about seeing the trend on the right person. Personally, I’m not a big fan of shaving sections of hair off but on the right girl it can look amazing. There is a style that suits everybody and seeing the right styles on the right people really does make all the difference.

Original A Salon
388 Oxford Street, Paddington, NSW.
T 02 9361 3977

How many times have you Googled “date night ideas” only to find cringe-worthy options? Here are four chic dates guaranteed to get some serious points.…

Go…glamping at home

When the nights are clear and beautiful, think outside the walls and set up glamp in your own backyard. Grab a big picnic rug to snuggle on, many cosy blankets, plush cushions and lots of candles for that all important mood lighting. Once you’ve got your luxe setting, make a decadent cheese board, pour some wine and put on your favourite playlist to waft out the kitchen window. What’s more romantic than falling asleep together under the stars?

Go…stay in a  B&B

Go on a little road trip. Escape the main drag for a night and stay in an out of town bed and breakfast. Check into a cute B&B and enjoy a romantic mini-jaunt without the travel time, or small talk with friends of friends. You’ll feel miles away from reality, while you’re only a few hours from home.

Go…wine tasting at your local

Take the cliché out of wine tasting and get romantic – not to mention cultured – at your favourite hole-in-the-wall wine bar. Check their events list and if they’re yet to do tastings, who says you can’t create your own? Find a dark-lit corner, order unpronounceable vinos, chew the sommeliers’ ear off and soak up the atmosphere.

Go…guerilla dining

Kick your date night rut to the curb and dine out guerilla style. Insider-only events like Sydney’s ‘The Table Sessions’ hold mystery dinners in warehouses, laneways, even shipping crates – if you can sit, you can dine. We also love pop-up food specialists ‘Secret Foodies’, who create themed surprise banquets. If you’re the kind of couple who don’t mind the company of others (to eat and drink, mind) and yummy food stuffs, then this is the date for you.

Image screenshot via The Notebook. Because lets face it, the best date of all is boating with Gos.